Orawan Arunrak's Multilingual Installation Explores Identity and Prejudice

Orawan Arunrak, a Bangkok-based artist, creates installations that are both meditative and intellectually stimulating, reflecting her experiences as a Buddhist woman in Thailand and her journeys throughout Southeast Asia. Her piece Exit-Entrance (2016–17) explores hidden biases and attitudes through discussions among ten participants fluent in Thai, German, English, and Vietnamese. The group includes a Thai monk, a nun, an anthropologist, several women from Thailand and Germany, a German anthropologist, a man ordained in a Berlin temple, a Vietnamese nun, and a Vietnamese woman, residing in Asia and Europe. The installation combines visual and auditory elements, featuring images organized in patterns inspired by these multilingual dialogues. Arunrak recently finished a year-long residency at Künstlerhaus Bethanien, and her work is exhibited in Berlin until 18 June 2017. She was recognized by Arin Rungjang in the Summer 2017 issue of ArtReview Asia, in collaboration with K11 Art Foundation.