WHAT SHOULD THE HUMAN RIGHTS’ CONDITION IN THAILAND IN THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? ‘IGNITE THE RIGHTS’ THE EXHIBITION FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL THAILAND EXPLORES HOPES FOR RIGHTS AND FREEDOM OF 13 ARTISTS WHOSE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE FEATURED IN THE AMNESTY’S 2022 CALENDAR, AND ECHOES THE ROLE OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN CALLING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
TEXT: KITA THAPANAPHANNITIKUL
PHOTO COURTESY OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL THAILAND
(For Thai, press here)
On February 19th, 2022, The Jam Factory and Amnesty International Thailand co-hosted the opening of Ignite the Rights: Art Exhibition, the exhibition that centers around an exploration into the dreams for people’s rights and freedom. A glimpse of hope is ignited through the works of 13 artists who are invited to create illustrations for the Amnesty’s 2022 calendar, ‘Art and Freedom’, alongside 20 other works submitted and selected via the online platform. Through their artistic creations, the artists manifest a common ground for human rights advocacy they share.
Showcased at the exhibition are art works and their critical takes on different social issues, from illustrator, Miminii, who talks about the right to have access to a good environment, graphic design collective, PrachathipaType, looks into the subject of freedom of expression, while thisismjtp’s work reflects the fight against the patriarchal society, and the work by leading collage artist, Nakrob Moonmanus, which revolves around the justification of people’s dream and calling for a better society.
The artists featured in the exhibition are the same group of artists who did the illustrations for the Amnesty’s 2022 Calendar. What’s particularly special about the calendar is that it includes all the human right related days that aren’t usually found on a regular calendar such as Stop Cyberbullying Day, The International Day of the Disappeared, International Day of Disabled Persons, etc. The illustration is created in order to represent the important days of each month. For instance, the Thai Political Tarot is the illustration created specifically for the month of June which presents a newly designed set of Tarot cards based on LGBT Rights. The work illustrates the significance of June as Pride Month with June 26th being a significant date when the world remembers the Stonewall Riots in New York when the violent police raid took place to suppress members of the LGBTQ community.
The exhibition also puts together the talk ‘Art and Building Social Participation’ facilitated by a representative from PrachathipaType, Miminii and Panadda Tempaiboonkul. The artists share their views on the rights and freedom in artistic professions and creation, providing a clearer picture of how art works to propel a society. With discussions that include artists’ use of online platforms to fight against mainstream media and the people in power to the younger generation’s awakening and awareness in human rights and freedom, and their acknowledgment in the significance of such issues as something pivotal and highly relevant to their lives. The discussion extends to the role of art that is not only created solely for aesthetic purposes but to serve as a communication tool people can use to keep a society moving forward.
The performance art that closed off the opening day was, “My Karma, My Choice” by Sophon Tabklong, a theater artist who is also blind. The work conveys the emotions and sentiments of people with disabilities in Thailand through the motions and movements of human body, telling stories of how disabilities are often viewed as a ‘bad karma’. Such a perception leads to a state of suppression where disabled individuals are viewed by a society or even people in the disabled person’s life themselves as a merit or a good deed they must make as an expression of moral responsibility. The viewers were given pieces of paper with different messages written on them such as ‘what a pity’ ‘please donate more’ ‘stay in your lane’ etc. The artist encouraged his viewers to voice these phrases while he was performing as a reflection of the patronising words he, as a person with disability, always comes across. After the performance was over, Sophon left with a final question that if karma is a consequence of one’s action, does that mean a person with disability has the right to design their own karma?
Despite the exhibition ending on March 6th, the hope still stands. In whichever art spaces and on whatever grounds, this glimmer of hope will continue to shine until the day our dreams of rights and freedom become a reality.
