Breathe
A dual exhibition by Imhathai Suwatthanasilp and Chatmongkol Insawang, curated by Nim Niyomsin
At Richard Koh Fine Art Singapore, Sep 24th – Oct 15th, 2022
The atmosphere surrounding us, circulating through all life, is part of the ecosystem. In ancient Greek, the word for breath, Pneuma, also implies ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’. The human respiration system is significant since it connotes something both intimate and communal, revealing social and physical connections through the air we breathe.
Imhathai Suwatthanasilp weaves human hair into specific shapes. She also uses hair for mono-print and outlines on canvas. Her art is a reaction against the intense air pollution she faces in the North of Thailand. She explores the stubble burning problem and the underlying complex issues of the country’s political, economic, and social structures.
Death and sickness in his family started Chatmongkol Insawang’s fixation with life’s fragility. The body is a burden, a shell whose existence relies on air circulation. Induced by the large-scale destruction of the pandemic, his attention expanded from his life to society and the interrelationships within.
Suwatthanasilp and Insawang tackle the deeper relationship between people and their environments. Everything and everyone are interconnected. Works in this exhibition result from personal and painstaking processes. Every breath and movement while working requires high concentration. Respiration not only appears in the subject matter but also underlies the artists’ practices, their physical and psychological states linger in the art.
http://rkfineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/RKFA-SG_Catalogue_Breathe_RKFA-SG_Imhathai-Suwatthanasilp-Chatmongkol-Insawang.pdf