Khai Maew’s first solo exhibition
Though they may have tried, the junta can’t keep Thai anonymous artist Khai Maew down
In a political climate where the concept of nationalism is blindly shoved down our throats and expressing one’s opinions that are “inconsistent with truth” is a criminal offence, there are those who will always find a way to retaliate. From bombshell music videos, to poetry and artworks, one figure has seemed to catch the collective attention of those exasperated by the Kingdom’s state of governance.
With his silent four-cell comics inspired by those of Spaniard Joan Cornellà, Thai anonymous artist Khai Maew (literally translated to “cat eggs”) takes the infuriating and turns them into the entertaining. Using his iconic characters of “the leader” (a smiling military officer with a Hitler moustache), “Jack Meaw” (a character that looks uncannily like former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra) and Nong Ta Sai (a young, innocent schoolboy), Khai Maew produces tongue-in-cheek content that satirises Thai politics and current events — especially that of the military junta.
For more than two years, the artist has been uploading viral comic strips to his Facebook page, articulating poignant messages and legitimate criticism through his tasteful caricatures, symbolism and artful representation. His unique sense of humour earned him a mention by Reuters, as well as the “Facebook Page Of The Year” in Prachatai’s 2017 polls. But in January, his page was shut down abruptly with no explanation. The government, naturally, claimed it wasn’t their doing. But launching his Facebook page back again a few months ago, the artist finally brought his artwork and characters into physical form in his first ever solo exhibition “Khai Maew X: Kalaland”, which ends tomorrow at 6pm.
The exhibition created a huge buzz at the ARTIST+RUN gallery for the past two weeks — with politicians like Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and Chardchat Sittipunt dropping by for a visit. Hung around the gallery are more than 150 tongue-in-cheek comic strips, a shrine, and three giant sculptures of his three iconic characters. At the back of the gallery room is an arcade machine where visitors can try their luck picking up a plush doll of either “The Leader” or “Jack Maew”.
“Most of the comics are events and situations that are still ingrained in Thai people’s memories,” said exhibition co-curator Lalita Hanwong. Khai Maew, of course, wishes to remain anonymous and let the curators speak for him. “So when you see people coming into the gallery, they’ll be smiling or laughing or scoffing about situations that aren’t that good — like the watches, for example. It’s still in people’s memories. They are gags that are timeless.”
Lalita along with co-curator Pandit Chanrochanakit decided to launch this exhibition before the upcoming elections, as the charm of Khai Maew might shift into another dimension or meaning altogether. The artist may even stop producing art altogether, as he specifically set up his Facebook page to satirise the junta.
“We wanted to gather the history of Thai politics in the past four years,” she explained. “The goal of this exhibition is for people to come and enjoy themselves. It’s about dictatorships and satirising society, but there are funny gags and something fun in there. Khai Maew’s charm is his humour and his penchant for fun, so we wanted to create some gimmicks and props so people can be able to laugh about all the bitterness, frankly speaking.
“In reality, freedom has been quite restricted by the police and army coming out and saying that [people] are using too much of their freedom. For example with the song Pratet Gu Mee — they came out to say that none of the things they said are true, why do these people hate their own country? They spoke badly about the country. In reality it’s not about hating the country at all. It’s about the little freedoms that we have left in order to criticise the government and to criticise what’s happening in society.”
Khai Maew X: Kalaland ARTIST+RUN Gallery, Narathiwas 22 Runs until 6pm tomorrow