EXPLOSION OF EMOTION
National artist Preecha Thaothong pours out grief.
When the news broke on Oct 13 last year that the much beloved King Bhumibol had died, the nation was in for the biggest heartbreak of our generation. People reacted with feverish emotion, with some bursting into tears and others beginning to pray. But National Artist Prof Emeritus Preecha Thaothong grabbed his brush and poured his grief onto canvas. He spent that entire night painting and, the next morning, ended up with a portrait of the revered monarch.
He called the painting — of the king wearing Thai formal garb and a traditional headdress, done in a sombre grey tone — Explode From Inside. This grand painting, towering at over 2m-tall, is now being exhibited at the Queen’s Gallery as part of the “Art Project 89/70/4447+ = 9 10” — an exhibition that showcases 111 of Preecha’s paintings, sketches and sculptures as inspired by the life and work of King Rama IX.
The set of numbers that makes the name of the exhibition denotes “89” for the king’s age, “70” years for his reign, “4447+” royal projects, and “9 to 10” as a sign for the legacy that will pass on from one monarch to the next — Rama IX to Rama X, father to son.
The collection combines 35 years of Preecha’s works in two phases, made up of before and after the king’s passing. About half of the collection was completed before Oct 13, 2016, while the rest was finished in the year following the king’s death.
“These works, they were like an explosion from within — of emotions and feelings,” said the 69-yearold artist. “It’s from heart and head. The hand — meaning the techniques and all — comes later and it doesn’t follow anything, nor does it conform to any theory. I don’t take after anyone, not even my previous works. With some of them, I would just use my hand and fingers to paint. With some, I’d use clay to paint the king. There are both simple drawings and elaborate paintings. I painted and I cried. I did what I wanted, going along with the flow.”
At our meeting earlier this week at the Queen’s Gallery, Preecha showed us around the art space. In one corner, there was a burst of colour — vivid and bright. In the other, grey took over in erratic lines. There was the king when he was ordained in his youth, the king with his saxophone, and more. Some contained the face of the king and some didn’t.
We walked past Preecha’s Explode From Inside to what appeared initially to us as a four-season piece depicting the changing landscape of Bangkok. Taking a closer look, we began to notice the silhouette of the king in various stages in life, from his youthful ascension to his working days, all the way to the elderly king sitting in a wheelchair, looking back to his younger self.
“It’s like he was looking from the balcony of Siriraj Hospital,” commented Preecha. He gave this particular piece a long Thai name, calling it Dawn, Late, Afternoon And Night. Working Twenty Four Hours
To Resolve The People’s Suffering, or simply 24/7 Service.
“This is dhamma,” added the artist. “We are born, live, get old and die. Everything has its own age to come to pass. No matter who you are — commoner or king. No one can escape from it. It is what it is. Art, too, won’t live forever.”
“All these,” he gestured around the room. “They will perish one day. But, at least, while they’re still here, they can enter people’s hearts.”
“I don’t know what people will end up getting from my works. But I hope what you end up getting is the emotion, the feeling behind it. You don’t have to feel the same way I do. In some paintings, there is no king, no people, animal or object. It’s abstract. Would you get it? Would you feel it? It’s like a song with no word. Why do you cry when you listen? Because it gained access to your heart — your very soul. The same way a particular colour lights up a certain emotion in you, even when there’s no apparent story to tell.”
Preecha said he won’t be selling any of the works in this exhibition.
“That would be like making money from the king,” he said. “I think we might just auction a few for charity, with proceeds going to Siriraj Hospital and the Red Cross.”
For now, he is keeping the artworks safe with his two children. He did say he would love to give the paintings to a gallery dedicated to the king. “If ever there is one by the government, that is.”
A Bangkok native, Preecha said he came from a family in which everyone has a strand of artistic DNA in their body. His uncle was a painter, and his siblings all practiced in separate fields of art.
“My surroundings became my inspiration,” he said. As a child, he painted on the temple’s wall and learnt how to carve fruits, vegetables and banana stalks. He eventually graduated from Silpakorn University, of which he later served as the institution’s lecturer. He also studied drawing for a period of time in Rome. In his career, Preecha is well-known for his contemporary arts, with the distinctive use of light and shadow. He was granted the status of national artist in the field of visual arts in 2009.
For his achievement, Preecha would say one of his proudest moments was to serve as one of the eight illustrators for the late king’s composition Mahajanaka. The project got him to work with the king in person, upon which the artist received criticism and suggestion for his work.
“The king could be very careful and observant,” said Preecha. “Working closely with him, I felt as though I could understand him more, of why he wanted the people to be happy. He had been researching what people needed and what they suffered from. For 70 years, he came up with thousands of projects to help Thai people.”
“He was a man of pure intention,” Preecha concluded. “And I hope my artworks can serve somewhat as an interpretation of his principles and teachings.”