L’Origine du monde
Thanet Awsinsiri
01 Feb 2018 - 06 May 2018100 Tonson gallery is pleased to present “L’Origine du monde” an exhibition of new work by Thanet Awsinsiri. The gallery will be presenting new installation work by the artist. Objects and video based works that are rarely seen from the artist. This exhibition reflects the Thanet’s continued interest in social interactions around the concept of obscenity, pornography and erotica.
The title of the exhibition “L’Origine du monde" is taken from one of the most infamous artwork in the western canon, L’Origine du monde by Gustave Courbet. Courbet was commissioned to paint L’Origine du monde for a wealthy collector to add to his collection of erotic pictures. Years after years, the painting pass through a series of private hands and eventually landed under a possession of a renowned french psychoanalyst, Jacque Lancan in which after he died the family donated the work to Musee D’Orsay where the painting is now on permanent display. After its arrival at Musee D’Orsay, the painting caused much controversies to the public as its explicit natures question what is appropriate for the public. Nevertheless, the work has been openly display for decades and the standards of morals and portrayal of nudes in public has change drastically but the work is still raising troubling question of voyeurism and today’s feminism. In this exhibition Thanet created a phantom replica of the work, not as a painting but a new entity as a low-relief sculpture.
The exhibition also includes a video installation “The Earth” a juxtaposed footage from Bigas Luna’s 1995 short film, part of a celebration for Lumière et compagnie. the footage depicts a woman sits in a freshly plowed field, nursing her baby. This kind of earthy sexuality is often seen in Luna’s work. Thanet then juxtaposed the shorts with footages of the 2016 floods in the central region which was greatly devastated but underrepresented in the media.
Thanet Awsinsiri is an artist and lecturer at Bangkok University and King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He has been exhibited both in Thailand and abroads. This includes a significant national art surveys such as 'Trace of Siamese Smile: Art+Faith+Politics+Love', Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Bangkok (2008) and regularly participate in international shows in Singapore and Malaysia. He also writes extensive articles on contemporary art which he shares for free on his personal Facebook page.
The exhibition will be on view from 1 February until 6 May 2018, Thursday - Sunday, 11:00am — 7:00pm.
Supported by ATM LEGACY
