How wondrous art is sometimes inspired by brutality
SAC Gallery is holding “Fantastical Manifestations” to reflect the failures, fallacies, and players in the war on drugs from tomorrow to March 21.
This is the first exhibition in Thailand by Thai-American artist Raj Bunnag who uses the process of relief printmaking to create exceptionally detailed, largescale prints that capture the unfocused and ultimately destructive energy of governmental response to illegal narcotics in the war on drugs.
His works are influenced by the grotesque and wondrous images of historical print works such as The Miseries And Misfortunes Of War (1633) by French printmaker Jacques Callot and The Disasters Of War (1810-1820) by Spanish printmaker Francisco Goya.
In the spirit of the early masters, the prints offer the same unflinching documentation of the unintended consequences of war — brutality, human suffering, and the loss of civilian lives.
Each piece in the series features one monstrous embodiment of a drug wreaking havoc on hapless people.
Viewing the drugs through the lens of monster theory, the artist turns each drug into a Godzilla-like monsters, which he calls “Druggernaughts”. The characters are inspired by Thai mythology his father recounted to him in his childhood.
Using drug pop culture and graphic imagery of violence and terror, he creates scenes of chaos and destruction that seem almost too fantastical to exist.
In Cocaine Hurricane, the monster is a manifestation of Pablo Escobar, the Colombian drug lord and narco-terrorist credited for single-handedly turning the cocaine trade into the violent and destructive business it is today.
His three relief prints featured in the exhibition are a massive undertaking that involved countless hours of focused drawing, carving, and printing over a period of seven years.
The exhibition is running on the 3rd floor of Art Centre, SAC Gallery, on Sukhumvit 33 and opens 10am to 6pm from Tuesday to Saturday.