The Ninth Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

163 ARTISTS Top: The Indra Reincarnation (from ‘Mt Meru’ series) 2017 Digital photograph / 120 x 150cm / Courtesy: The artist Below: Angels (from ‘Whitewash’ series) (detail) 2015–16 Digital photograph / 64 x 100.3cm / Courtesy: Gallery VER, Bangkok HARIT SRIKHAO Born 1995, Pathumtani, Thailand Lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand, and Berlin and Hamburg, Germany Harit Srikhao’s practice demonstrates the capacity of the photographic image to communicate a sense of power. Aware of the connection of photography to royalty and politics that is particular to Thailand, his work also critically reflects on present-day politics. The artist has stated that his extensive series of photographs ‘Whitewash’ 2015–16 is an exploration of his own youthful innocence growing up in Bangkok. Comprising images of groups of young friends and lovers sharing moments of joy at dusk or dawn, the photographs are a response to poignant memories of awakening. Yet the majority of works suggest different personal moments of revelation for the viewer. Figures portrayed at a day’s end celebration — boy scouts, students, nuns, military cadets and others — are seen as faceless, blind followers of a collective. Srikhao constructed these images around his memories of attending Bangkok’s Big Cleaning Day with his parents on 23 May 2010. The event saw people voluntarily cleaning the streets following a series of riots in which the Abhisit government (supported by the military and monarchy) had violently repressed the Red Shirt protestors. 1 Like other families, the Srikhaos responded in good faith and enjoyed what was promoted as a festive city event. ‘Whitewash’ exposes the government manipulation of its citizens and the lack of consciousness of some — those who unquestionably accept authority or blindly believe public figures engaged in acts of self-promotion. In place of loyal citizens or cynically smiling actors and celebrities, Srikhao’s parade of seemingly innocent figures suggests a darker, more repressive reality. Srikhao’s work has increasingly tested the role of truth, particularly the narratives and propaganda of a nation where governance intersects with religion, monarchy and the military. The artist’s more recent series ‘Mt Meru’ 2017 underlines the multifaceted social and cultural discourses governing photography in Thailand. The seemingly simple collages of homemade studio theatrics belie aspects of the history of Thailand and the continuing role of photography in stratifying Thai society. ‘Mt Meru’ evokes the perpetuation of power by the monarchy, military leaders and, more recently, commerce through the distribution of photographic portraits. The lifting of the taboo on the public representation of royalty by King Mongkut in 1856 resulted in a literal transference of monarchical power to the iconic photographic image. From that time, Thai photography became the physical manifestation of the nobility and power of the subject. In his work, Srikhao highlights the continuation of the ideology behind photographs of power in Thailand, and how photography draws on the most important text informing Thai society, the Traibumikhatha ( The Three Worlds According to King Ruang ) from the fourteenth century. This sermon placed the King at the apex of a universe constructed around Mt Meru, and conferred merit and protection according to a steeply hierarchical social system, which relied on barami (charismatic power or merit) that appeared in life as influence and wealth. 2 The figures in ‘Mt Meru’ act out scenarios of power, desire, wealth and beauty, client–patron relations, morality, conspicuous consumption, corruption and cronyism. The death, in 2016, of the previous Thai monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej led to a renewed proliferation of photographs of a man who spent over 70 years on the throne, and who was often portrayed with his camera. His image multiplied, as expressions of loyalty and national identity were offered in both public and private spaces. Srikhao’s generation was educated to believe that the King, ever present in photographs, was the ultimate role model, sacrificing himself for the good of the people. Placeless and imaginary, but far from fanciful, the images in Harit Srikhao’s ‘Mt Meru’ remind us of photography’s incredible influence in Thailand. Moreover, they explore the hierarchy of power surrounding photography, and the continuing authority of the photographic image in contemporary times. Zara Stanhope Endnotes 1 The hardline response to the Red Shirt riots resulted in over 90 deaths. 2 Clare Veal discusses the importance of the Traibumikhatha in ‘The charismatic index: Photographic representations of power and status in the Thai social order’, Trans Asia Photographic Review , vol.3, no.2, September 2013; see <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/ spo.7977573.0003.207>, viewed April 2018.