Thai-American artist Michael Shaowanasai describes the new collection currently on display at Adler Subhashok Gallery as being formed by a process resembling sexual intercourse: he lay passively while letting his partners, or those who created the pieces from his concept and instructions, do the work for him.
Shaowanasai only saw the set of paintings and installation works, entitled "Michael Shaowanasai Presents......", one week before the show's opening early last month. He gave instructions on how he wanted each piece of work to be completed solely through phone calls.
"Basically, I'm a prostitute. I'm a surrogate mother and these are my babies," said the ever-flamboyant Shaowanasai. "I sent them the layout I wanted, the type of font, the size of the canvas and the colour, etc. I'm not going to stand there with them and guide them through every detail. It's like when a couple sleep together, there's not going to be a contract saying exactly what you are to do, which part of the body and how many times you have to touch one another."
In contrast to what many might expect from the 51-year-old's signature style — provocative sexual and social commentary pieces that usually feature portraits of himself — this time he is almost absent. There is one black and white portrait of himself dressed as a prim schoolgirl hung at one corner, but this too is spray-painted all over, leaving only a pair of eyes staring solemnly out into viewers' eyes.
"Most people know my work from my face," said Shaowanasai. "This is the first time I decided not to use that element. I want to know to what extent this will succeed. People expect to see my face in this exhibition. It's not that I'm shy, I'm still beautiful but I was suddenly struck by the desire to deface myself. Ask me anything you want, but I have no answer. I just woke up one day at 1am or 2am and decided to do it. I scrawled all over my portraits with crayon and found out that, yes, this is beautiful."
A portrait of Shaowanasai was spray-painted over by graffiti artist Klone.
Graffiti artist Klone spray-painted the works, and conforming with street art tradition, Shaowanasai said the artist did the work less than an hour before the opening and in a matter of minutes, before rushing away. Klone also worked with Shaowanasai on another set of street art conceived through Shaowanasai's idea. One piece is a hanging stencil that says "I SUCK ALMOST INDISCRIMINATELY" while on a huge canvas next to it, a sentence "I SUCK ALMOST DISCRIMINATELY" was spray painted in colourful street art style.
"One night I came out of a club in France and realised that I had previously been [sexually involved] with almost everybody there," said Shaowanasai. "When I told people, they were like, 'Ewwww, how could you do that?'. And I was like, 'I spent €10 to get in there, I've got to get my money's worth'.
"It's like Oishi buffet, all you can eat. This is a contemporary portrait of people who commit themselves to everything just for themselves to feel good."
This exhibition is a return for Shaowanasai to the art scene after a three-year hiatus during which he "lost interest in everything" and was in great agony. "What was I doing? Contemplating is too profound," said Shaowanasai. "I was just stoned, no I didn't say stoned [laughing]. I lost interest in everything. Paris, New York, Rome, done them all. I want to see the Moon, I want to see Mars. I was in agony for three years."
Most of Shaowanasai's works are intended to provoke viewers' ideas about the nature of sexual desire.
"My work is about the process, it's conceptual," said Shaowanasai. "It's done the moment I think about it in my head and scribble it down."
"Michael Shaowanasai Presents......" is on display at Adler Subhashok, Sukhumvit Soi 39, until April 19.
The atmosphere inside the exhibition ‘Michael Shaowanasai presents....’.
