[ISEA2016] Artist Talk: Sarawut Chutiwongpeti — The Installation Series Of Untitled (Wishes, Lies And Dreams >> Primitive Cool…)

Artist Statement

“The truth, the central stupendous truth about developed countries today is that they can have – in anything but the shortest run -the kind and scale of resources they decide to have… It is no longer resources that limit decisions. It is the decision that makes the resources, This is the fundamental revolutionary change—perhaps the most revolutionary man has ever known. _U Thant, Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Installation Series of Untitled (Wishes, Lies and Dreams >> Primitive Cool…) invites you to step into an enchanted garden, simultaneously idyllic yet bizarrely repellent in its stark beauty. Riches of baubles, pearls and diamonds are strewn alongside the frozen wildlife in this universe. The natural and the artificial are thrown into coexistence in this dreamscape that is both familiar and uncanny. A life-sized ape stares into the distance—is it fascinated by or fearful of what it sees? The human-ape has wishes, lies and dreams for its future, which may swing towards a return to a more innocent, primitive state, or continue on its materialistic march. This atmospheric glittering world focuses on the mechanisms of perception and dreams, the
private world of the world of fantasy and unconscious, and the conditions underlying the system by which the human mind and spirit operates.

Sarawut Chutiwongpeti is interested in revealing the unexplored facets of experiences and exploring the interdisciplinarity of art and culture.

Relationship to Art & and the Animal
I am interested in finding out how contemporary art can foster a profound universality in human nature and investigating the uniquely human trait of consumerism and consumption. My installation provokes an ambiguous relationship between the object, its function and its appearance, unlocking a mysterious force field on the border of truths and lies, which force the viewer to take up a new position in the observation of the surrounding world. Our wishes, lies and dreams are human habits, which strive towards changing our reality. Would this be considered “cool” by our primitive ancestors?

  • Sarawut Chutiwongpeti, Switzerland/Thailand. Sarawut Chutiwongpeti has contributed to the development of the media arts through his artistic and research practices at noted international institutions in Canada, the United States of America, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Egypt, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Nepal, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Born in 1970, he graduated in 1996 from the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University and works as a full time contemporary artist. chutiwongpeti.info