LAF 2021 Programs
Phi Ta Khon Abstraction
Boon Luang ceremony and Phi Ta Khon festival are ancient cultures and shared pride of the Dansai people. In order to learn and build on these cultural assets, we, Loei Art Fes 2021, invited “Gerald Leow”, a visual artist from Singapore to research and re-interpret as an occasion to start the open-ended dialogue of “What is your contemporary narrative of Phi Ta Khon?”
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This project not only involves the creation of artwork but also addresses the issue of over-tourism, which has halted locals' ability to build on their cultural assets. The community members also share the authority with the sculpture by donating the used sticky rice cooker or ‘huad’ as the sculpture materials.
Artwork’s title: Sticky Rice
Artist: Gerald Leow
Local artists & collaborators: Phisit Thabthong, Surasak Srinam, local working crews, Somnuek Jaifong, and everyone in Dansai.
Venue: Chaweng Ni Kiang Siri building, Dansai Crown Prince Hospital, Dansai district, Loei Province, Thailand
Commissioner: Creative Economy Agency (CEA)
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“As an artist, I am interested in material cultures as an expression of ways of thinking and people's relation to the world that they inhabit. The significance of ‘huad’ in the culture of Dan Sai reflects for me both the people's inventiveness in its use in Phi Ta Khon masks, as well as the importance of living culture as expressed in food, agriculture, and cooking. As a living practice, everything comes together in the form of “Sticky Rice”. The form of this artwork is both inspired by the ‘huad’, but also pays homage to the Si Song Rak Stupa and the buffalo horn myth behind the Phi Ta Khon festival. Visitors are encouraged to enter the artwork as a space of reflection and contemplation.”,
Gerald Leow.
About the artist
Gerald Leow
Gerald Leow (b 1984, Singapore) expresses his fascination with material cultures and anthropology by sampling contemporary culture and indigenous forms together. His practice is a material-based exploration between the boundaries of culture and interpretation. His work has been showcased at Chan + Hori Contemporary (Singapore) and the Queensland College of the Arts (Australia), as part of the Singapore Art Museum Front Lawn Commission (Singapore), Palais de Tokyo (France), and Art Science Museum (Singapore).
International expansion from our partner
The online talk session "Spirituality & Sticky Rice: Arts & Social Impact at Loei Arts Festival" by In the Wild (Singapore)
"1001 Tales around The Ghost Mask Festival -Loei Art Festival Talk with Artist Gerald Leow", by Sense Connect and Present Projects (Hong Kong).