The Hua Krathi Project 7-23 March 2013
RMIT University School of Art Gallery, 14 March - 22 March 2013
Opening: Wednesday 13 March, 2013, 5-7 pm
A pop up gallery housed within a shipping container, The Amphitheatre, Federation Square, 13 March - 20 March 2013
Hua Krathi [Thai, noun.]
1. The first extraction from the flesh of the coconut;
2. Coconut cream that is distinctively used in Thai cuisine;
3. A Thai expression that describes the elite, the top of the class, the charismatic and the influential.
The Hua Krathi Project presents the work of 14 contemporary Thai artists that span the mediums of installation, sculpture, media art, drawing, painting and photography to showcase the diversity of Thai culture. Their work represents a divergence from the traditional mediums and approaches to art making, offering Australian audiences a taste of this fresh contemporary approach.
Shifting away from the exotic and tropical identity of Thailand, the project explores the conflicts between the rural and the urban Thai landscape, whilst addressing contemporary developmental issues of the socio-political, the cultural and the personal. Similarly to how Hua Krathi – the cream of the coconut - is used to bring a richness to the diversity of flavours in Thai food, each artist in The Hua Krathi Project brings conceptual and contextual finesse to create artworks in a mélange of mediums that reveal the range of issues that face modern Thai society.
Coinciding with the 10th Anniversary of Thai Culture and Food Festival, the visual art program features a two week exhibition at the RMIT University School of Art Gallery; a three week exhibition at Screen Space and a pop up gallery housed in a Shipping Container at the Amphitheatre in Federation Square. The program also features a panel discussion at The Edge (formally known as BMW Edge) and artist and visiting international curator talks at RMIT University.
Featuring Santiphap Inkong- ngam, Kornkrit Jianpinidnan, Paphonsak La- or, Lipikorn Makaew, Ohm Pattanachoti, Kata Sangkhae, Thasnai Sethaseree, Vipoo Srivilasa, Sutthirat Supaparinya, Tul Suwannakit, Phaptawan Suwannakudt, Jedsada Tangtrakulwong, Jakraphun Thanateeranon and Kawita Vatanajuyankur, The Hua Krathi project aims to assist the cultural exchange between Australia and Thailand through a greater understanding, and awareness of the synergies that exist between Australian and Thai culture. The project will also strengthen the relationship between these two countries and nurture future collaborations.
Curated by: Shukit Panmongkol, Rushdi Anwar and Melanie Jayne Taylor
Remove Series at the School of Art Gallery, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Remove Series at a pop up gallery housed within a shipping container at
Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia