External Exhibition
Jakkai Siributr Matrilineal
100 Tonson Foundation, Bangkok
30 November 2023 - 24 May 2024
The exhibition Jakkai Siributr: Matrilineal at 100 Tonson Foundation, Bangkok, is conceived in continuation of 18/28: The Singhaseni Tapestries (2018), a body of works centered on the passing of Siributr's mother to reflect on the notions of grief and departure. Taking a further matrilineal approach to Thai modern history as to the artist's maternal grandparents, Jakkai Siributr: Matrilineal hinges on two main concepts: the awareness of the impermanence of life, tightly woven into the universal pain we all experience with loss and bereavement; and the endeavor to revisit the past through the lives of the loved ones in order to maintain their memory in the face of history-whether personal, communal, or national.
The artist's family history intersects with that of the nation, especially between the reigns of King Rama VII (1926-1935) and King Rama IX (1946-2016)-an intense period recorded primarily by its male protagonists into the grand narrative of Thai modern history as we experience it today. The women-mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives, daughters, aunties-were in the background, weaving the threads of their own family history in the spirit of resilience and female solidarity.
This exhibition will be on view at the Foundation from November 30, 2023, to May 26, 2024. During this six-month exhibition period, the Foundation will offer a variety of monthly public programs. These programs include Memento Mori, an embroidery workshop conducted by Jakkai Siributr; an Ikebana Workshop led by the invited floral artist, Mattana Snidvongse, to encourage reflection on the ephemeral and transitory nature of life - sentiments that form the framework of the exhibition; a Kintsugi workshop conducted by Sumanatsya Voharn, providing a meaningful experience to engage with the philosophy of Kintsugi while remembering and beholding the past; and a conversation with Professor John Clark and Jakkai Siributr, moderated by Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani. Finally, the launch of the 'Jakkai Siributr: Matrilineal' catalog, which encapsulates the essence of the show and situates Siributr's practice within its social, historical, and artistic context.