interviewed by Melanie-Lou Gritzka-del Villar, article by Andreas Klempin.
Jedsada Tangtrakulwong returned to Bangkok in August 2006, after receiving his Masters from the Slade School of Fine Art, a branch of the University of London. Previously, he had studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, from which he graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Art in 1999. After all those years overseas, Jedsada hopes to import new perspectives and expand on the traditional possibilities of art production, as well as share his experiences with fellow artists who perhaps haven’t had the same opportunities. He currently teaches painting as part of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at the Mahasarakham University. Having come across many interdisciplinary art practices abroad, the artist hopes to broaden the locally defined fine art categories of sculpture, painting and printmaking, into more permeable and multidisciplinary areas.
The work of Jedsada has undergone various changes along the course of his career. From his initial interest in photography, the artist switched to painting. When his tutors suggested he use bigger canvases, Jedsada realised he could no longer afford painting on conventional surfaces. The solution was to attempt wall paintings. This was when the aesthetic of pipes, holes, beams and other architectural elements of a building really came to his attention, which triggered his exploration of spatial and interspatial possibilities.
Jedsada Tangtrakulwong is having his first solo exhibition in Bangkok since 2000, entitled Off the Frame, at Hof Art Gallery during the month of June. It consists of several site specific pieces that explore the physical space of the gallery. The artist explains that he saw the site and the space as a challenge, because of its architectural characteristics, especially since his work is site specific. He needs visual stimuli to set off an idea and prefers to work from an existing platform, such as the structural design of a building, in contrast to starting from a blank canvas. To begin with, Jedsada tried to produce the piece in colour, however, this came across as too decorative and in addition, the back frame was too pronounced against the colourful mesh. “At that point I was stuck.” Jedsada admits, “and I went through the entire colour palette looking for the adequate hue”. Finally, the artist settled for black.
The work consists of a series of enamel stripes painted onto the windows, the window frames and the actual walls of the gallery, in such a way as to integrally alter the perceived structural features of the gallery. His jagged stripes open up the contrived spaces between window frames and criss-cross the square panels of the ceiling above the viewer’s gaze, creating illusionary spatial features that make the work appear as though it were comprised of three-dimensional elements integrated into the already existing space. This artwork challenges the viewer’s perceptions of structures which are often given too little attention and are therefore taken for granted.
The artist usually only works with one or two assistants, however, this time he included a team of six student assistants. Jedsada initially produced sketches for the pieces and his students then set up the physical work as a group on-site. The experience involved a great degree of compro-mise, negotiation and brainstorming, but he saw it as a positive experience.The opening of the exhibition took place on Friday, 8th of June. Jedsada muses that the initial reaction of the viewers was that of bewilderment: “Where is the work?” many would ask. Some people passed through the exhibition without even noticing the work, which only revealed itself after closer examination of the gallery features. Those who noticed, in a sense discovered the work when confronted with it quite suddenly. “I enjoyed that part of the exhibition the most,” Jedsada reminisces, “that moment of surprise when the viewer actually becomes aware of the pieces”.
- Thailand Art & Design Guide - Art News July/August 07
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