KARMA’S ON OUR SIDE
LOCAL ARTIST JOINS SEVEN OTHER FEMALE ARTISTS IN AN EXHIBITION UPLIFTING WOMEN
Her name draws immediate intrigue. On one hand, it’s just a damn cool and contemporary name. On the other hand, knowing that she’s repping Thailand in an all-female group exhibition celebrating women for the occasion of International Women’s Day, we’re curious of what themes and images this clearly multicultural homie will bring to the table. We spoke to 29-year-old artist Karma Sirikogar to pick her brains about feminism and also learn more about her background and style of visual abstraction.
Tell us about your diverse cultural background and how it influences your ideas pertaining to women and women’s rights?
I’ve grown up in a few different Asian environments. I was born in Singapore but am ethnically Indian with a Thai nationality. I’ve been living in Bangkok for 17 years, but I’ve also lived in Australia and India. I’ve seen how women are oppressed, their voices weakened or undervalued in society, as well as their objectification and even commodification. Asian women are often socially encouraged to be and depicted in the media as soft, demure, delicate and submissive. This drives me nuts. In my work, there is an intensity of freedom. I use abstraction and colour in a metaphorical way to represent feminine anatomical forms as a celebration of a woman’s strength, assertiveness, spirituality and creativity.
How would you describe your style of art?
I am an abstract-surrealist. I’m obsessed with exploring line, shape, colour, movement and dimension in a variety of disciplines — through drawing, painting, printmaking, street art, digital imaging and sculpture — and then intersecting or merging them at times. People have said that my work is riotously loud in a maximalist, hypnotic, introspective, explosively feminine and neo-psychedelic sort of way.
Very cool. What pieces are you exhibiting in this group exhibition La Femme?
I am exhibiting two large mixed media drawings on Awagami Washi paper and four smaller ink drawings on paper. The titles of the works are Seashell, Contemplation, Freedom, The Mystery of Existence, Spirited and Tulip.
Have you always explored feminist or feminine concepts in your work?
Being a human is complex. Life is never about just one thing. So to answer your question, yes and no. My process is intuitive: do first, think later. Feminine forms have definitely been a recurring element in my work over the years though. Aesthetically, I’m inspired by organic natural forms and geometric urban structures. I find meditation, exploring the nature of thought and deconstructing reality super fascinating too. If time is a created concept and everything that
ever was, is and will be is already occurring simultaneously — as scientists are increasingly proving — is the human mind trapped in narrative thought? Is the self an illusion?
In the spirit of International Women’s day, what are a few feminist issues off the top of your head that you feel should be discussed and addressed more openly in Thailand?
The abortion debate in Thailand, longer paid maternity and paternity leave, how women are portrayed in Thai media, and inequality for female muay Thai fighters are some. Just in general, I’ve never understood gender roles and gender identity. Our souls have no gender. We can choose to develop and change what it means to be a woman; what it means to be a man. We can change the narrative by rejecting traditions that don’t work and start living in a new way.
Lastly, why should people check out La Femme, even if they aren’t loud and proud feminists?
A wonderful show of local and international artists we rarely see has been organised in such a beautiful space. There aren’t many exhibiting female artists in Thailand. This exhibition is definitely a first. Plus, Bangkok is a roaring city decorated in advertising that bombards and interrupts. Coming to an art show is a great way to disconnect and reconnect with something deeper.
Check out Karma’s works and the works of seven other local and international female artists at the 1st floor of the River City Bangkok, now until Mar 26. For inquiries visit fb.com/rivercitybangkok or call 02-237-0077.