Welcome to my land |
||||||
An Art Exhibition by Michael Shaowanasai
The word "Welcome" is associated with Thainess and the country's campaigns for "Visit Thailand Year", and "Revisit Thailand Year." But economic power has turned hearts and souls into commodities. While the "land" itself has been invaded and exploited by an unthinking and uncaring "landlord". Thailand's reputation as a sexual paradise is known around the world. Exoticism is a buzz word that we keep reemphasizing and reusing for reasons of economic survival. The "give-them -what -they- want" or "the customer is king" concepts are tried and true maxims of the tourist and sexual trade.
In "Welcome to my Land" Michael Shaowanasai addresses the issues of the Thai sex industry and the whole notion of extoticsm. As an American born Thai artist, Shaowanasai brings together his dual points of view from his sexual identity and cultural background to construct the major work in this exhibition entitled, "How to be exotic: The Instruction". For him, "Land" is defined as a border, a territory, a house and his own body. While he sees himself as a native Thai, Shaowanasai spent half of his life in the U.S., where he was perceived as an "exotic" person. He highlights this notion and switches the focus to allow "non-exotic" people to try and experience these feelings.
The distinctions between exoticism and non-exoticism continue to create interesting interactions. Cultural barriers are engaged and illustrated by an interim between high art and low art. Besides the nightlife, a freak-show-like set is recreated as a parallel of how queer culture is perceived in this country. In this exhibition, Shaowanasai juxtaposes the roles of performers, go-go boys/clients, hosts/tourists, sellers/buyers and ordinary Thais/Thai sex workers. He also encouraged the audience to switch their roles. gridthiya
gaweewong february
1997 This
exhibition is made possible by Project 304 and the Shaowanasai.
|
