“Lose” for his debut solo exhibition, emerging artist Tewaporn Maikonkeaw centres his series of oil on canvas paintings upon victims in Thailand’s southern unrest.

A native of Nakhon Si Thammarat in the country’s south, the 37-year-old artist feels empathy to the families of those who have lost loved ones in the separatist insurgency. Becoming increasingly militarised, the struggle has so far taken over 6,000 lives.

Skirting theo-political arguments, Tewaporn focuses on those who have perished at the hands of separatists; soldiers, teachers, government officials, and even students. He subverts traditional portrait compositions by negating individual representation through an uneasy facial masking. The anonymous veiling of heads indicates violence with life taken, but it also invokes the respectful shrouding of corpses prior to burial.

Initially absurd in its juxtaposition, the artist contrasts the asphyxiating imagery with placatory bird symbolism. Calming in countenance, the flock of fowl is a metaphor for folk from the South, who enjoy the peaceful pastime of bird singing competitions. Tewaporn’s underpinning message to his surreal bust paintings is one of remembrance to the lost.

Tewaporn holds a BA from Bangkok Univeristy and an MA from Silpakorn University. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Thailand, as well as the 2007 Beppu Asia Biennale of Contemporary Art in Japan. He has received awards in domestic art competitions organised by Toshiba and Panasonic.