Just like heaven (if it doesn't feel like hell)

in-tangible institute welcomes local artist Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng to inaugurate its Project Space! 

‘Just like heaven (if it doesn’t feel like hell)’

A solo project by Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng | Curated by Kamonpan Tivawong

Opening Friday 29 November 2024 @ 6-10pm; beginning with a conversation (6-7pm)

On view until 26 January 2025.

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Join the conversation with Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng (artist), Suphakarn Varinpramote (urban researcher), and Kamonpan Tivawong (curator) who will delve into the motivations driving each of their practices, sharing their observations and challenges of social and economic exclusions, which often prioritize economic growth over social equity and community well-being. This discussion opens our ‘project space’ which aims to raise awareness of the shared value of artistic and cultural practices in giving visibility to underrepresented communities, demonstrating how creative work can engage and inspire broader cross-disciplinary, social engagement.

Read on to learn more or download the exhibition brochure.

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This exhibition begins with Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng’s childhood memories of her family living in a cramped storage room of a shoe store in Phayao, where her father once worked as manager. Her father’s decision to move to Chiang Mai, in hopes that a bigger city would provide a better education and greater opportunities for his daughter, would sadly cause his family to break apart. As a consequence, Kwanphitcha has no wish to return.

The story that Kwanpitcha shares in this exhibition mirrors the lives of many across the world, who are pressured by economic fragility in their desire for a better life–not only for themselves but for their community. Kwanphitcha feels insecure in Chiang Mai, a city that was supposed to offer her a brighter future. She wonders how marginalized people can truly improve their lives within a system where governmental priorities rarely care for the communities of labor that enable societal and economic growth. This ‘Northern Capital’ (as Chiang Mai is often referred) may be one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, but it is also an economic and social hub in the North, for migrants, refugees, and stateless alike. This community faces stark challenges — rising rent, escalating food and fuel prices, and political disenfranchisement — conditions familiar worldwide due to political agendas favoring profit, social conflicts that ensue from fear of economic alienation, and environmental degradation from rapid urban growth. Seeing these issues as a vast and complex consequence of a social blueprint that often fails to include the people it is meant to serve, Kwanphitcha asks, what kind of inclusive blueprint can be sustained in the face of Capitalism and its global demands that deem centralizing power an effective tool for social control? 

In Buddhist cosmology, heaven is traditionally understood as a state of transcendence, where suffering ceases and ultimate peace is attained. Just like heaven (if it doesn’t feel like hell) questions where such ideals can exist, suggesting that while many may deceive themselves with the opportunities of the metropolis, the sacrifices of such longing wreaks of incomprehension, pain and suffering. Such tension threads through this show, from the works that compels us to look up and down (echoing the opposing realms of heaven and hell); to the tightly compressed shoes within a restrictive wooden box (conveying lives pressed by societal expectations) while an image of a blue sky with fluffy clouds elides the lack of concern, by the ruling elite, to the problems hidden beneath. The lives of Chiang Mai residents are embedded in these works, evoking the ongoing social pressures of navigating economic struggle.

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ABOUT

Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng (b.2000, Phayao) explores the cause and effect of migration, critical of the impact of such displacement and the socio-economic challenges tied to its circumstances, both to the human and non-human world. Predominantly embracing painting, mixed media and installation, Kwanphitcha is guided by the sense of sight and touch in her use of material, understanding such senses can operate as symbolic metaphor prompting recall of particular memory, in particular time and space. Kwanpitcha hopes her viewers look closely at her artistic experiments, which often hold hidden tales or demand particular physical interaction. Kwanphitcha holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from Chiang Mai University. Recent exhibitions include A River in Ruin: Mekong’s Vanishing Treasures (solo), Chiang Mai, 2024; Before Birth and Beyond Death, Kenduri Seni Nusantara 2024, Pattani, 2024; Before… After?, Chiang Mai University Art Center, Chiang Mai, 2024; Engraving Hua Lamphong : รื้อภาพสลักความทรงจำ, RTUS, Bangkok Design Week 2024, Bangkok, 2024; Beyond the Valley, DC Collection (Panic Room), Chiang Mai, 2023; Rising Tides, Rising Voices: Contemporary Visions of Climate Resilience, Some Space Gallery, Chiang Mai, 2023; EGO – NOMIC: Life in a plasticosphere, ART for AIR 2, Jing Jai Gallery, Chiang Mai, 2023. Kwanphitcha lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Kamonpan Tivawong (b.1995, Sukhothai) is a photographer with a growing interest in curating and writing. Kamonpan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Photographic Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University. As an observer of social and environmental movement, she is interested in the interconnectedness between human and non-human agency, exploring how these relationships shape cultural identity and resilience in a rapidly changing social context. In 2023, she was awarded a Curatorial Fellowship by  in-tangible institute, sponsored by MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum. She is a curatorial contributor for LIVING ANOTHER FUTURE, MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, 2024 and recently co-curated A History of…, a solo show by Pietro Lo Casto’, Chiang Mai, 2023. As an artist, her exhibitions include Chemicals 101, Bangkok, 2018; Southeast X Southeast group exhibition, Daytona State College, USA, 2018. Kamonpan lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Suphakarn Varinpramote (b.1992, Bangkok) is an urban researcher and music advocate. Her move to Rotterdam, Netherlands at a rather young age enlightened her interest in the design of urban life. Most of her professional career is centered around community-building, creating spaces that activate the spark within and between people. Suphakarn believes in a bottom-up approach to city planning. This led to her co-founding ‘TEMPO.wav’, a music lovers collective synchronizing Chiang Mai music scene through community events, content creation, and collaboration, where she is dedicated to shedding light on the impact of urbanization on its youth across Southeast Asia. Suphakarn holds a B.B.A in Business Economics from Mahidol University International College, Bangkok; Master of Science in Urban, Port and Transport Economics from Erasmus University, Rotterdam. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Asean studies at Thammasat University, Bangkok. Suphakarn lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Image: Kwanphitcha Kongsaeng, detail of ‘Blueprint of Belonging’ from ‘Where is Your Home’ series (2024). Acrylic and ink on Sa paper; iron wood | 200 x 130 cm