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Thasnai Sethaseree is interested in how power and seduction fold into state and commercial imagery, in particular in Thailand. Presented as a triptych, The Tower of Bubbles 2022 investigates the geo-body of the city of Bangkok by combining collage and oil pastel techniques. While appearing as patterned at a distance, these large-scale collages are composed of archival and found images of Bangkok’s commercial district. As evidenced by the playdough and balloons dangling over the city, however, the boundaries between reason and irrationality remain hazy in Sethaseree’s works. Upon closer observation, one can discover overlaid and juxtaposed imageries that are suggestive of political violence, sexuality, death, and resistance, among other subjects. The works refer to the particular context of Thailand, but at the same time, find resonances in places like Gwangju. For Sethaseree the images also form a type of historiography of Thainess in its particular mix of rational and sacred, order and improvisation, pre-modern and modern. Together, they generate what the artist describes as ‘universes in ferment or flux’ (Excerpt from Gwangju Biennale). |
