Of Art and Absurdity: Military, Censorship, and Contemporary Art in Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACT:On June 15, 2017, soldiers and plainclothes officers visited Cartel Artspace and Gallery VER in Bangkok. The two adjacent galleries were hosting exhibitions by young Thai contemporary artists, The Shards Would Shatter at Touch by Tada Hengsapkul and Whitewash by Harit Srikhao. The first exhibition depicted stories of political prisoners, whereas the latter recalled the 2010 military crackdown on Red Shirt protests in Bangkok. Thailand has been ruled by a military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), since the May 2014 coup, but this was the first time that visual art exhibitions had attracted the attention of state officers. However, the military stormed the two galleries because of the incorrect impression that Prontip “Kolf” Mankong, a theater artist who had been convicted of lèse-majesté for the play Wolf Bride, was hosting Hengsapkul’s exhibition.