INSPIRED BY THE BUDDHIST TEACHING OF ‘INTERBEING’, DISORN DUANGDAO SUGGESTS THROUGH HIS ARTWORKS THAT ALL SOCIETAL INCIDENTS ARE ALL ONE CONNECTED CHAIN OF EVENTS
TEXT: PRATCHAYAPOL LERTWICHA
PHOTO COURTESY OF GALLERY VER
(For Thai, press here)
“Thích Nhất Hạnh elaborates in his poetic language that once you look at this piece of paper, you will see the sun, the moon, the trees, clouds and rain. He tries to point out that all things are connected, reliant, dependent on each other and interact as factors for one another.”
The message was what Buddhist monk, Phra Paisal Visalo, wrote in an issue of Nation Weekend magazine, expressing his inspirations from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thích Nhất Hạnh and his insight of ‘interbeing’. The excerpt also connotes the concept behind the ‘INTERBEING (Light travels from the past)’ an exhibition by Disorn Duangdao, the artist who has made an observation through his art pieces that all societal incidents, from the constitution amendment appeal attempt that took place last year, 2010 Thai military crackdown, the October, the 6 October 1976 massacre, or the Mekong River development, are all one connected by a chain of events.
The artist began the work process by surveying the communities along the Mekong River riverfront that have been affected by the development. He interviewed local residents and authorities, collecting data, which was later translated into a series of art works whose conceptions are reflected on different related issues. Meanwhile, the artist incorporated stories from his personal experiences such as the 2010 crackdown, and information contained through additional research, and utilised them as his artistic materials.
In this exhibition, the viewers play the role of a ’spirit’ who has witnessed all these events from different parts of history, swimming through the massive canvas that is the gallery space, interwoven by a series of art works. For example, ‘Introduction’ features an installation of ten wooden boxes built in the same size as the original constitution. ‘An islet as beautiful as glorious sun.’ simulates the rocks and sandbars exposed from Mekong River’s extreme drought that has caused the waterway to dry up at an alarming rate. ‘People’ is the work in which the artist fills a cavity on a wall with empty envelops that once held documents he signed and submitted for the amendment proposal. ‘Bullet’ shows a photograph of a sign with an alleyway’s name ‘Soi Pluk Chit’, a side street on which the artist once lived. Visible on the sign are bullet holes caused by the clash between the military force and the Red Shirt protesters in 2010.
While the exhibition never straightforwardly tells the viewers about what exactly interlaces all these phenomena and incidents, it is evident that underneath the stillness and quietness of the displayed art works are soaring noises from the commoners’ growing resistance towards the people in power. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that despite being devoid of violent imagery, these works are the unmistakable depiction of violence.
INTERBEING (Light travels from the past) exhibition by Disorn Duangdao, Gallery VER, 6th February – 28th March 2021.