Collapsing timelines and conjuring possibilities through fabulations
By Wirunwan Victoria Pitaktong

A&M's Fresh Faces is where we profile an emerging artist from the region every month and speak to them about how they kick-started their career, how they continue to sustain their practice and what drives them as artists. Read our profile on Thai artist Thanawat Numcharoen here.

Thanawat Numcharoen in front of his latest painting. Image courtesy of the artist. — Thanawat Numcharoen.

How would you introduce yourself as an artist briefly?

I believe I can now fully say that I am an artist. Before, I was working several jobs. For example, I was helping out with my family’s business, which is a Vietnamese-Isan restaurant, working as project manager in artistic projects, and participating in film production. However, my solo show ‘Arcane Plateau’ in 2023 was a turning point where I saw my own artistic potential. It was well-received by the audience, and that encouraged me to keep pursuing art. Therefore, at the moment, I am channeling more time into experimenting techniques and making more pieces.

“ I probably won’t be able to live up to the stereotypical image of an Isan person, but it is exactly because Isan-ness is dynamic and ever changing.”

You are from Sisaket province, located in Northeastern Thailand or ‘Isan’. Then, you came to Bangkok to study BFA at Silpakorn University. How does this background and also transition shape you as a person and an artist? What would you say is particularly unique to this upbringing and change?

The big difference between the two places is the abundance of resources or the lack thereof. Of course, this background has significantly shaped my perspective and experience. However, I do not hold this change as the essence of my being, or the centre around which my art revolves. It is undeniable that I am from Isan, but I am only considered an Isan person when I am outside of such a context. Back at home, I am just me. Therefore, I do not want to be labelled only as an “Isan artist” because the tag comes with certain assumptions that I may not necessarily identify with. I probably won’t be able to live up to the stereotypical image of an Isan person, but it is exactly because Isan-ness is dynamic and ever changing.

Thanawat Numcharoen, various sculptures, 2023. As part of the ‘Arcane Plateau’ exhibition, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist.

Since your 2023 solo show ‘Arcane Plateau’ at Speedy Grandma gallery, it seems that you have developed a very particular style in painting. Could you tell us how you decided to paint in this manner? How does this aesthetic relate to the messages that you would like to convey with your work?

In college, I studied mixed media, so at the time I actually was more interested in new media such as moving images. However, for this exhibition, the pieces are exclusively paintings and sculptures, accompanied by a 160-page fantasy novel I wrote. The choice for paintings and sculptures came after the novel was finished. Writing portrays images in people’s minds, and so it felt organic to turn to paintings and sculptures. Moreover, since the novel is in the form of fables and myths, I was interested in the traditional and primitive way of communication like cave paintings, which was also why I chose to add texture to my paintings. In a way, it was a contemporary interpretation of a primitive tool.

How do you see yourself developing this technique further in the future? What would you change or keep?

I developed this technique for my solo show in 2023. This year, I participated in two other group shows at Silpakorn University and later TARS Unlimited. While the pieces exhibited at Silpakorn University still relate back to Arcane Plateau’s universe, the works shown at TARS Unlimited deal with new themes whilst using the same techniques. To elaborate, since the space of TARS Unlimited was previously a factory for sculpting stones, I saw how the layers upon layers of paint on the walls. Considering them as a landscape, I became interested in the overlapping surfaces both in physical and metaphorical terms. I think this is where I am heading with this technique.

Thanawat Numcharoen, (right) ‘Everybody makes it through (in the light)’, acrylic on canvas, 190x160 cm, 2024. (left) Ramble on, acrylic on canvas, 190x160 cm, 2024. As part of the ‘Surin’ exhibition, 2024. — Thanawat Numcharoen, (right) ‘Everybody makes it through (in the light)’, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 160cm, 2024. (left) Ramble on, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 160cm, 2024. As part of the ‘Surin’ exhibition, 2024.

For your solo show in 2023, you published ‘Arcane Plateau’, a 160-page novella that reimagines the origin myth from the perspective of the Isan plateau in Thailand. How do you think writing informs your visual arts practice, and vice versa? How are they in conversation with each other?

I believe that they are different tools for communication, each with its own strength. I was interested in how I could convey the same story using different tools to deliver diverse results and effects.

Thanawat Numcharoen, ‘Twin in the Moonlight’, acrylic on canvas, 30x30 cm, 2024. As part of ‘Allegory of the Cave Part I&II’ exhibition, 2024. — Thanawat Numcharoen, ‘Twin in the Moonlight’, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30cm, 2024. As part of ‘Allegory of the Cave Part I&II’ exhibition, 2024.

In your work, you often speak of politics in both the mundane and governance realms through myths and fables. Why are these mediums interesting to you?

I grew up in a political crisis, with the 2014 coup lasting for nine years, or most of my formative years. I am interested in politics, which I think is inevitable, but it has been a forbidden topic. However, when the waves of protests took place in 2020 and 2021, it seemed almost everyone was free to express their opinions. What fascinated me was the narrative that was overlooked in these discussions: the narrative of myths and fables, which were brushed off as fictional and senseless. However, to me, they are stories from the past that can speak to the current situations and project the future. In a way, they can open up possibilities of thinking about politics and society, and of creative expressions.

What is the most recent thing that you read, watched, or listened to that intrigued you?

The most recent film that impressed me was La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher. The plot revolves around a man who has a super power, almost magical, to find antiques. In one particular scene, the protagonist found a sculpture in perfect condition. However, his conspirator broke the sculpture into pieces to sell it in parts. That was when the protagonist realised there were certain things that were not for the living. I was fascinated by the transition of values. In the capitalist world, offerings to the dead became commodities; and magicians became antique hunters. Where does magic fit in this modern, scientific, rational world?

Since your 2023 solo show, you have participated in two other group shows in Bangkok, Thailand. What is your plan for ongoing and future projects?

Soon, I will be participating in the ‘Mango’ art fair in Bangkok in the special exhibition section. Later in June this year, I will be part of the ‘Suphan Echo 2,’ an exhibition that will take place in Suphanburi province, two hours from Bangkok. And hopefully, at the end of the year, I might be participating in an art fair in Jakarta.

Read other Fresh Faces interviews here.

About the writer

Wirunwan Victoria Pitaktong works with translation in its varied forms and manifestations. In 2020, she co-founded the Namkheun Collective, a literary collective based in Bangkok, Thailand. Since 2019, Pitaktong has also been a member of the artistic collective Speedy Grandma.