Thai Artists' Political Silence Contrasts with Activist Creativity Amid Decade of Polarization
Over the last ten years, contemporary art in Thailand has mirrored the nation’s political rifts. The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre hosted the 2010 exhibition Imagine Peace, which featured more than 50 artists reflecting on the crackdown in April-May 2010 that resulted in the deaths of at least 91 Red Shirt protesters. Rirkrit Tiravanija's exhibition (who's afraid of red, yellow, and green) displayed colored curries representing various political factions. Activist Sombat Bunngamanong performed 'dead body' acts to commemorate those lost. Creative resistance against Thailand's lèse-majesté law included the 2011 initiative Thailand's Fearlessness: Free Akong and the 2012 video Loud Silence. The political landscape has been characterized by the royalist Yellow Shirts and pro-Thaksin Red Shirts, with Thaksin Shinawatra winning elections in 2001 and 2005 before his exile following the 2006 coup.
Key facts
- Thai contemporary art has been politically polarized for about ten years
- Imagine Peace exhibition at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre occurred in June 2010 after April-May 2010 crackdown
- Rirkrit Tiravanija staged (who's afraid of red, yellow, and green) at 100 Tonson Gallery in 2010
- Sombat Bunngamanong's Red Sunday organization commemorates Red Shirt deaths through performances
- Article 112 (lèse-majesté law) carries up to 15 years prison for defaming monarchy
- Amphon Tangnoppakul received 20-year sentence in 2011 for SMS messages
- Mit Jai-in led 112-hour hunger strike in 2012 protesting lèse-majesté law
- Sutee Kunavichayanont's Thai Uprising was included in 2016 Gwangju Museum of Art exhibition
Entities
Artists
- Rirkrit Tiravanija
- Sakchai Guy
- Apinan Poshyananda
- Mit Jai-in
- Prapat Jiwarangsan
- Manit Sriwanichpoom
- Sutee Kunavichayanont
- Patiwat Saraiyam
- Pornthip Munkong
- Antonio Gramsci
Institutions
- Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)
- 100 Tonson Gallery
- Red Sunday
- We are Akong
- Nitimon
- Thammasat University
- Gwangju Museum of Art
- People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC)
- Art Lane
- Cultural Activists for Democracy (CAD)
Locations
- Thailand
- Bangkok
- Chiang Mai
- Gwangju
- South Korea