Don’t call it cutesy.
But it’s hard to resist: the pillowy spirit houses, decorated with patterned pieces of cloth and intricate threading, are surrounded by fluffy, fabric Fanta bottles or miniature, pastel-striped zebras.
Watanya Siriwan’s solo art exhibition “Mongkol – Object” is a textile art installation of fabric sculptures that stops just short of being cute – if you take a close look at it.
Watanya’s spirit house sculptures are elaborate. Of course, “ornate” is a term long used to describe the structures you usually see positioned outside of homes, businesses and public areas. But Watanya’s exhibition features spirit houses with an attention to detail you probably haven’t seen before. Colorful threading that swirls into flowering shapes decorates the sides. Shingles made of alternating patterns of fabric create a roof. Elaborate daisies are carefully stitched onto the spirit house’s platform.
The Northern Thailand native has taken the spirit house – an object with serious spiritual importance – and turned it into a solid (or rather, soft) work of art in her first solo exhibition. The name of the exhibition describes its main subject: the Thai word “mongkol” means a way to happiness or prosperity, or a spiritual blessing. Combined with the English word “object,” a more concrete term, Watanya says “Mongkol – Object” can mean “sacred object.” Inspired by Thai spiritual beliefs, she takes objects considered sacred (a subjective term), and puts them in various contexts in a “harmonized combination of paradoxical things.”
A spirit house in an environment of zebras or Fanta bottles might be more of an absurdity than a contradiction (depending on how you feel about zebras and Fanta bottles, that is), but the talent behind the installation is very real. This girl can sew. Textile art installations with this focus on detail aren’t something we’ve seen a lot of lately and make the exhibition worth a visit.
And the exhibition isn’t simply a series of works lining a barren wall – it’s experiential. While there are three main installations, the entire gallery showcases pieces of the exhibition, from the naga-shaped door handles that resemble the roof finials of a wat, to the embroidered elephants that climb the staircase with you to the gallery’s second floor.
The seamlessly-stitched flowers dangling from the ceiling and the stuffed zebras might very well evoke an “aww!” But while Watanya’s interpretation of revered, spiritual objects is playful, the soft sculptures demonstrate a sophisticated workmanship from such a young artist.
Watanya Siriwan’s exhibition “Mongkol – Object” is on display at Maya’s Secret Gallery in Silom through August 8. The gallery features contemporary art from young, up and coming artists from Thailand and abroad.
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FIND IT:
“Mongkol – Object” Solo Exhibition by Watanya Siriwan
635 BaanSilom, Silom Soi 19, Silom Rd.
MRT/BTS Surasak
June 29 – August 8
Thursday – Sunday: 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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