THE ART of OPTIMISM

Two young women use surreal humour to critique Thailand's persistent structural flaws and everyday chaos

- STORY: SUWITCHA CHAIYONG

Napatsakorn Nikornsarn, left, and Watoosiri Jansin.

A rtist Watoosiri Jansin, aka Artsaveworld, reflects on poor construction throughout Bangkok with her sculpture titled Maa Cherry Tid Tor Prapaa (Cherry The Dog Stuck In A Water Pipe).

The long body of the dog reflects persistent issues.

Meanwhile, artist Napatsakorn Nikornsaen, aka Anxiety Storage, created a readymade installation in the form of Bangkok's damaged sidewalks. There are puzzle pieces in the middle of the gap in the installation. The puzzle pieces sarcastically show that walking on Bangkok's footpaths is similar to playing a game where people do not know what they will encounter.

Art pieces created by Watoosiri and Napatsakorn are displayed at the exhibition "We Will Pass Away Together: The Thai Art Of Surreal Survival". Though these two artists are students at the Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University, they had never worked together. They teamed up for this exhibition because the curator felt they share a similar humour.

Napatsakorn confessed that she was initially worried about showcasing together because their styles are totally different. While Watoosiri focuses on illustrations, Napatsakorn's works are objects and installations. After working together, they became comfortable. They could express their own ideas and still maintain harmony between their works.

The exhibition "We Will Pass Away Together" was inspired by a meme during Covid-19.

"The exhibition title came about during the pandemic. At that time, people sent phrases to encourage each other such as 'getting through this together.' However, someone came up with the phrase 'we will pass away together.' This made us realise that even though we have to live in a country with structural flaws, Thai people still have a sense of humour for negative things they experience," explained Napatsakorn.