A dialogue on womanhood

When Rose Bannaros worked with artist Luck Maisalee, she noticed that many of his pieces were inspired by female figures and icons. Impressed by this, Rose aimed to display this particular aspect of Luck's work. However, she was concerned that presenting work from a single artist could lead to a narrow perspective, so to provide diverse perspectives of women, Rose collaborated with three other female artists -- Kaewtrakarn Junlabon, Parichat Suphaphan and Marisa Srijunpleang.

Organised by 333Artlink and Noble Play, the exhibition "Many Faces Of Her" -- curated by Rose -- features the work of four artists: Luck, Kaewtrakarn, Parichat and Marisa. Luck is known for his satirical take on capitalism and consumerism. His section presents Henry Money, a painting with the words "make art for money" which satirises a sculpture of renowned artist Henry Moore.

Rose explained that Luck wrote the message to mock himself. Although the value of art is not measured by money, he has to work to earn money. Another painting, Money Lisa (inspired by the iconic painting Mona Lisa) depicts a long-haired woman with the US dollar symbol in her eyes and the phrase "super rich" appears in the background.

Luck also created the Statue Of Richberty which features several paintings and a golden sculpture inspired by the Statue of Liberty in New York. In it, the sculpture's right hand holds the symbol of the Japanese yen while the left holds the symbol of the Thai baht. The sculpture Venus, inspired by Venus Of Willendorf, showcases Luck's sense of humour as it features a plump female figure with a man stuck to her backside.

Kaewtrakarn's work revolves around her connection to rubber, a material central to her hometown's economy and traditions as she was born and raised in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The mixed media installation Mammalia was inspired by motherhood while the installation The Pulse Of The Earth is meant to depict natural forces.

Rose Bannaros, curator of 'Many Faces Of Her'.

"Mammalia was inspired by the pelvis as the artist wanted to convey a story about motherhood. When Kaewtrakarn was pregnant, she felt that nature had created a woman's body for the function of nurturing another life, which made her feel more valuable," explained Rose.

"Both artworks contain rubber because they are about nature. The installations convey the idea of red as blood and rubber itself is the blood of trees. The Pulse Of The Earth is a representation of the power of nature. Kaewtrakarn believes that natural phenomena symbolise the life of nature. Its colours were inspired by the vital signs monitor that the artist saw while she was looking after her father in the hospital."

Marisa is a native of Surin and her work focuses on the lives of people living along the blurred Thai-Cambodian border. The main exhibit created by Marisa is a 10-minute video piece titled When The Dust Flew Away. It shows moments when family members cleaned up and collected belongings from the old house where Marisa's mother and grandmother used to live. The video also includes a Surin ritual to ward off bad luck known as kae kruok.

"Marisa's works explore the unconscious assigned role of women as caregivers. Marisa's family was affected by the Cambodian genocide, which resulted in the deaths of her grandfather and father in refugee camps. After that, Marisa's grandmother took care of all her children, but the effects of the genocide had a physical and mental impact on her grandmother. She eventually developed Alzheimer's and now her mother has also developed it. The people who take physical care of Marisa's mother closely are her daughters while her sons support her financially," Rose explained.

"The video title When The Dust Flew Away refers to dust as a metaphor for memory. Dust is like a person's memory. Memories are real, but they can float away and disappear quickly."

Mammalia by Kaewtrakarn Junlabon.

In addition to the video art, Marisa created a mixed media installation series titled What The Ivy Gourd Left Behind.

"Spring Song talcum powder is one of the materials used for this collection because it is a powder that the Marisa's grandmother used. Its smell reminds Marisa of her grandma," said Rose.

Hailing from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Parichat's works celebrate the resilience and vibrancy of rural women in central Thailand. She portrays women in bold colours and dynamic forms, challenging the social norms of beauty and femininity.

For the exhibition, Parichat created five oil acrylic on linen paintings which depict stylish women with big eyes and thick lips, wearing clothes with striking patterns and eye-catching colours. There is a series of fibreglass sculptures called Soju which depict female figures with prominent breasts. All the sculptures wear large framed glasses and have a large ribbon sitting on their heads.

"Parichat was inspired by the way women dressed at temple fairs in Ayutthaya. She admired them although the dressing style of women in rural areas is thought to be distasteful. It was also a trend to have lip filler injections and breast augmentation," explained Rose.

A scene from The Dust Flew Away by Marisa Srijunpleang. marisaaroundwork

"When Parichat was young, she was teased due to her prominent breasts which made her feel insecure. While growing up, breast augmentation became a trend and she was surprised to learn that there were women who wanted to have prominent breasts. She learned that self-acceptance is important. She also believes if people who have plastic surgery or cosmetic injections are happy with it, it is fine."

As a curator, Rose said working with one male artist and three female artists helped her to see things from different perspectives.

"I had never thought about tastes of people in different areas or roles of women as family caregivers. I hope people will visit the exhibition. They may discover new aspects like I did. People may assume that an exhibition which serves as a voice for women is anti-men, but this exhibition is not against men. The purpose is to showcase the different dimensions of women and honour them."

"Many Faces Of Her" runs at Noble Play next to BTS Phloen Chit until April 27. Admission is free. For more information, visit instagram.com/333artlink.