Coercion
Credit: Subhashok The Arts Centre
Coercion
6 October – 18 November 2018
Subhashok The Arts Centre (Bangkok)
(Curator talk to students from Faculty of Fine Arts, Srinakharinwirot University on 6 November 2018)
Coercion is the first solo exhibition by Kittisak Kaewduk, derived from his ongoing art project, which began in 2014. Its development coincides with his career as an art teacher at the new Fine and Applied Arts department. Facing the challenge of creating an effective art curriculum under the Quality Assurance in Higher Education guidelines, Kaewduk started to question its use of the same criteria to regulate all academic departments, without considering the unique nature and purpose of each program.
Full concept
Coercion (n.) (/kəʊˈəːʃ(ə)n/) – the action or practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.
Coercion is the first solo exhibition by Kittisak Kaewduk, derived from his ongoing art project, which began in 2014. Its development coincides with his career as an art teacher at the new Fine and Applied Arts department. Facing the challenge of creating an effective art curriculum under the Quality Assurance in Higher Education guidelines, Kaewduk started to question its use of the same criteria to regulate all academic departments, without considering the unique nature and purpose of each program.
This dissatisfaction is the grounding of Coercion, a series of sculpture works in metal and wooden forms. In this series, Kaewduk explores Thai art education through his artistic creativity. The pressure from the rigid rules and old-fashioned education system is ingeniously represented through stiff and rusty discarded metal instruments, restructured to act as a tool to compress, clench and secure. Beautiful natural wood is composed against standard plywood to challenge our opinions and perceptions. The illusion of matter shifting from solid to liquid, aggressively inflicted by outer forces, is a signature of Kaewduk’s works, signifying an individual’s state of mind.
From the beginning of his art practice, Kaewduk has always been interested in depicting the subconscious human mind’s response to society and its surroundings through the symbolic use of artistic forms. The artist’s intent is not to force his subject matter on viewers but to encourage them to feel and recognize the signs of repression in relation to their personal situation.
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