Chiang Mai Social Installation: Independent Art Festivals 1992-98

Afterall's Exhibition Histories series explores the 'Chiang Mai Social Installation' festivals (1992-98), a series of independent art events in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The festivals featured site-specific installations, performances, and participatory works in temples, cemeteries, public buildings, streets, and other urban spaces. Notable works include Sarawoot Tongchampa's installation at Wat Suan Dok, which disappeared overnight after one day; Navin Rawanchaikul's 'There is No Voice' (1993) at the USIS library; and Mit Jai Inn's participatory walkabout where audience members were bound together with rope, walking from Buddhasathan through the night bazaar, past a luxury hotel, red-light district, slum with Cambodian refugees, and ending at a municipal abattoir. The 'Week of Cooperative Suffering' events took place in January 1995, 1996, and 1997 at Tha Pae Gate. The fourth festival (Dec 1997-Jan 1998) included Ben Patterson's project where rickshaw drivers documented their day with disposable cameras. Artists involved include Vasan Sitthiket, Liz Miller, Jian Jun Xi, Kost Juntaratip, and Rolf Hinterecker. The festivals were documented by Uthit Atimana and Gridthiya Gaweewong.