Do the robot

Thai artist Krit Ngamsom will display his new series of works inspired by toy robots during “The Body You Want” exhibition at H Gallery from Jan 28 to March 31.

The exhibition, whose title playfully refers to futuristic mechanisation and the problems and pleasures of servitude, will feature variously-sized works including two large kinetic works.

The artist explores a sense of nostalgia for his early years’ playthings, acknowledging their charm and simple mechanisms against today’s far more complex creatures of fantasy.

These older childhood accoutrements carry a utopian sense of the future that may now be all but impossible to imagine in our terribly conflicted world. There is a darker side to Krit’s concerns as an artist — escapist retreat from the contemporary world; the distinctly masculine significance of these ordered or functionalised forms; and metaphors of dehumanised labour.

“Our usual governing systems turn us into robots,” said Krit. “We are controlled by laws or traditions that have been passed on, yet they are also waiting to be defied.” This dynamic between conformism and potential rebellion underlines the concerns of “The Body You Want”.

Krit is reputed for his whimsical and ironically-crafted objects that carry a strong design sensibility as he blurs perceptual distinctions between the handmade and industrially manufactured.