Vichit Nongnual’s new exhibition The Grandmaster: After Tang Chang (สนทนากับปรมาจารย์ จ่าง แซ่ตั้ง) pays homage to one of Thailand’s greatest modern artists. Using a diverse range of media—acrylic paint, wool, wax, and ceramic—Vichit has produced meticulous recreations of Chang’s works.
One of Chang’s most famous self-portraits, ตัดมือกวี ควักตาจิตรกร (‘cut the poet’s hands, remove the painter’s eyes’), shows the artist symbolically self-mutilated in an anguished reaction to the massacre of pro-democracy protesters that took place on 14th October 1973. Vichit has rendered this monumental oil painting as a woven tapestry, retitled The Grassland.
One of Chang’s most famous self-portraits, ตัดมือกวี ควักตาจิตรกร (‘cut the poet’s hands, remove the painter’s eyes’), shows the artist symbolically self-mutilated in an anguished reaction to the massacre of pro-democracy protesters that took place on 14th October 1973. Vichit has rendered this monumental oil painting as a woven tapestry, retitled The Grassland.
Chang translated the Chinese novel The True Story of Ah Q (阿Q正傳) into Thai in 1975, though it was banned and burnt along with hundreds of other books in the anti-Communist purges following the 6th October 1976 coup. Vichit has transformed piles of Chang’s books into ceramic sculptures using the Japanese raku firing process, a technique that results in black scorch marks, in a reference to the book-burning of the 1970s. (Sirisak Saengow also created ceramic versions of banned books, in Unforgetting History.)
The Grandmaster opened at La Lanta Fine Art in Bangkok on 11th January, and runs until 26th February. A lavish exhibition catalogue has also been published, featuring an informative essay by Sheryl Gwee. (Since relocating from the Sukhumvit district in 2018, La Lanta has been part of the N22 group of contemporary galleries, which also includes Gallery Ver, Cartel Artspace, and VS Gallery.)
