My art practice eventually arrived at a point where I had freedom from various limiting conditions; the institutional mindset is not airtight and isn't altogether ideologically programmed. There are ways of escaping.
Araya RasdjarmrearnsookIn shows where the audience wants to try to understand the work, the work is placed in a space of possibility where it becomes a subject of inquiry rather than being subject to conclusive interpretations. This is the gift I receive when I go abroad.
Araya RasdjarmrearnsookThere might just be a universal expectation to respect the dead, but my work is also born from another aspect of Thai society - that is, the overemphasis on familial bonds.
Araya RasdjarmrearnsookWhen I began making art, I just thought I liked it. As a woman who was placed in spaces with various conditions, conventions, and restrictions on self-expression, turning to art - whether visual art, writing novels, or writing articles - was to gain freedom from the space around me.
Araya RasdjarmrearnsookI probably sensed the serious formality of the ceremonies and felt what others were feeling then. Looking back, I'd guess that it had opened up a gaping hole in my psyche. In the process of creating art, I might be trying to fill that hole, or to reduce its depth, or to make it feel less hollow. I think that making art could have helped from that moment on.
Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook