AN EXHIBITION INVITES VIEWERS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE TWISTED, DEFORMED, AND ADAPTED APPLIANCES TRANSFORMED INTO ‘ERROR’ ONES

TEXT: CHIWIN LAOKETKIT
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN

(For Thai, press here)

At Saratta Space, the ‘808080’ (error objects) exhibition unfolds as a striking solo venture by Napatsakorn Nikornsaen—an artist and designer from anxiety storage. Once celebrated for her viral 3D renderings that comically twisted the mundane into the absurd, Napatsakorn now steps into the tactile world, with her digital creations manifested into palpable art pieces.

The ‘808080’ (error objects) project by Napatsakorn is the fruit of her challenge to a society that rejects deviations, viewing them merely as oddities. She probes the essence of everyday objects, challenging their utility: If a comb with bristles morphed into sharp screws or a spoon riddled with holes fails their primary function, do they still uphold any value or normalcy as an ‘error object’? The exhibition, with its layers of humor, subtly nudges the viewer toward deeper introspection and contemplation. Nikornsaen anchors her thematic exploration in the choice of ‘808080,’ a hex code balancing on the grayscale between black and white—her metaphor for the gray area where there’s no right or wrong.

Step into the exhibition, and you’re met with a cane outfitted with wheels—an innocuous piece at first glance. Yet in action, the wheels undermine the cane’s foundational purpose, becoming a redundant feature that contradicts its supporting function. Surrounding this piece are numerous ‘objects’ born from Napatsakorn’s queries: a shelf that cannot hold items, a bicycle whose seat is whimsically replaced by a broom, and a hybrid of a handheld electric fan that operates by the movement of hands. Each piece is accompanied by preliminary render images, illustrating the initial conceptualization before their full-scale realization.

The ‘808080’ (error objects) exhibition smudges the boundaries between product design and art, melding them into a single, eclectic oeuvre. Here, Napatsakorn Nikornsaen reimagines and presents familiar everyday objects, only to ‘twist’ and ‘distort’ them into forms that defy their intended functions—some are stripped bare, others brimming with excess. Each artifact, flaunting its imperfections, ignites conversations that lead to myriad interpretations and stirs the minds of spectators.

These objects do not seek to argue that conventionally perfect objects are wrong, nor do the flawed pieces in the exhibition claim to be correct or superior. Rather, Napatsakorn embraces them as they are, whether as artworks, functional devices, or as dark humor that leaves one unsure whether to laugh or cry. Despite the exhibition’s title, ‘error object,’ the chosen gray-scale value ‘808080’ subtly underscores Napatsakorn’s stance: these are not matters of right or wrong.

Should we one day lose our most essential values, much like these objects, let us meet it with laughter. There’s no need to hastily restore an imagined ‘correctness;’ after all, humans, with all their faults, are worthy of acceptance too.

The ‘808080’ (error objects) exhibition opens from August 17 to September 17, 2024, at Saratta Space.

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