In a case of role-swapping, critic-turned-artist Andrew J West presents his first solo exhibition, "Three Worlds", a photo-poetry-art show featuring the photographs of 27 well-known and emerging Thai artists.
Prateep Kochabua, a surrealist painter.
The exhibition, held at the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre (BACC) and sponsored by Thailand's Ministry of Culture and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca), merges photography and poetry to form an affectionate celebration of contemporary Thai art. Among the 27 photographed are internationally known Thai artists Thawan Duchanee, Vasan Sitthiket, Prateep Kochabua, as well as mid-career stars such as Thaweesak Srithongdee and Lampu Kansanoh. West says he hopes the exhibition will "promote Thai art and serve as a document about the Thai art scene".
Originally a journalist from Sydney, West has spent the past decade living in Thailand, supporting the local art scene through his books, articles and short stories. His love for Thai art began back in Australia, where, studying at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), West formed friendships with students and teachers from Thailand's Silpakorn University, a sister institution to UWS.
Vasan Sitthiket, posing with his painting.
After several increasingly prolonged trips to Thailand, West finally moved to Bangkok eight years after graduating with his Master of Arts. In Thailand, West's career took off he has published works in the Bangkok Post and Photo Art Magazine, and two non-fiction art books, Prateep Kochabua: Destiny To Imagination (2013) and the forthcoming Contemporary Thai Directory Of Artists.
"Three Worlds" seems to be an inevitable culmination of West's experience and knowledge of the Thai art scene. His transition from critic to creator was entirely accidental. "I've never viewed myself as an artist, and to turn around and suddenly become an artist has been very exciting."
The exhibition title references the Traiphum, or The Three Worlds the earliest known Thai illustrated manuscript, circa 1345. West says he chose this title as it "relates to Thailand, and the project's tripartite combination of photography, poetry and art".
The idea for the show came to West nearly two years ago, while writing his Contemporary Thai Directory Of Artists.
"I wanted to do something to support the directory, and I got this idea at four in the morning. Within two weeks I had bought the camera, taken my first few photographs and started writing poems for them," he says.
Despite having no formal art training, West hit the ground running.
"I didn't have much experience, but I knew I had a good eye for it."
The exhibition is simple in nature. The 27 featured artists have been photographed posing with one of their own artworks, usually gazing directly into the camera. Though it runs the risk of looking like a PR shoot, the careful composition and accompanying poetic verses which West calls "photo-poetry" adds complexity to the series. He has enclosed the photographs in plexiglass and written short verses in marker over each frame so the viewer simultaneously experiences the impact of the photo and the poetry. Influenced by the works of Andre Breton and other surrealist poets, West says his work is an attempt to "unite the two art forms of visual art and writing".
The presence of poetry lends a surprising sense of spirituality to the show. Hourglass, a portrait of sculptor Manop Suwanpinta, shows the artist standing among the fibreglass figures of his Coyote Dance (2008). Manop's face peers through a rectangular gash in a female figure's torso, gazing calmly out at the viewer. West says Manop's expression reminds him of an owl peering out from a tree. The accompanying poetry includes the line, "a tomb hewn through her womb, as the owl of death emerges". West says he intends his poetry to "evoke the same visceral response in the viewer as a visual artwork".
West says that transforming artists into artworks was a highly enjoyable experience with rewarding results. There is a strong sense of goodwill and respect present in the series perhaps because many of the artists are friends of West's.
"Some of the artists I photographed in their homes, just in casual clothes," says West. This familiarity has allowed him to create intriguingly candid portraits of the artists.
There is a playfulness present in the portrait Love's Torment, featuring West's close friend and flamboyant Thai artist Vasan Sitthiket.
West shows Vasan posing with his painting Mother Earth (2010), his hands placed across the breasts of the female nude portrayed. Represented at the Venice Biennale (Italy, 2003) and in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Vasan's work is known for its often provocative and explicit nature. West makes a humorous reference to this by setting Vasan up in this ambiguous pose is Vasan covering the nude or being flirtatious? The accompanying verse speaks of heretics, ecstasy and madness, transporting the viewer into the tumultuous world of the artist.
Though the number of visitors to the show has suffered due to its location the BACC is near a main anti-government protest site the exhibition has received positive a response.
West plans to continue in his new role of artist and build his collection of portraits. He especially hopes to incorporate more Thai female artists into his next project, as "Three Worlds" features only two women, Lampu Kansanoh and Suwannee Sarakana.
"I want to add another 20 artists for the next exhibition I think this could show a hundred times," he says.
"Three Worlds" certainly possesses expansive potential. It is an intriguing and sincere visual documentation of Thai art that not only draws the viewer into the three realms of art, poetry and photography, but also into a fourth the fantastical imaginations of artists and writers.
'Three Worlds' is on show at the BACC, Pathumwan intersection, until Feb 16.
National Artist Thawan Duchanee.
