Art Basel Hong Kong

Jakkai Siributr

Flowers Gallery is delighted to participate in Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, with a solo presentation by Jakkai Siributr. One of today’s leading Thai artists, Jakkai is known for his intricately handmade tapestries, quilts and installations, which convey powerful responses to contemporary and historical societal issues in South East Asia.

The Outlaw's Flag (2017) is an installation of 21 imagined flags embroidered with beads and fishing nets. Gathered in Sittwe, the materials allude to the displacement of the Rohingyas, the ethnic Muslim minorities in Myanmar, who escaped religious persecution in the city on boats to Ranong, southern Thailand.

These 21 flags of invented nations integrate colors and emblems from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand, referencing the countries implicated in the Rohingya refugee crisis. "A flag in general whether from a country, a sports team or a club is to unite their members. But when religious symbols appear on a flag, it automatically excludes a certain group of people." Siributr says. As well as the assemblage of differently sized, richly colored flags, hung aloft from individual hooks, the installation includes a looping video shot in both Sittwe and Ranong.

Presented in conjunction with The Outlaw's Flag, Blind Faith I, II, III (2011/2019) is made from Thai military uniforms adorned with brass bullet shells, glass beads and ritual objects. These works were previously exhibited in Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art at The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York last year.

The artist explains that the work is “to address the military’s negligence of army conscripts sent to the restive deep south of Thailand....The only thing they can rely on is supernatural powers from various talismans.”