The Buddha and the King

NATIONAL ARTIST Chalermchai Kositpipat and Ho-Yoon Shin of South Korea have exhibitions on view this month commemorating His Majesty the King’s 87th birthday.
Ho-Yoon Shin is making a marvellous return to Bangkok with this show of paper sculptures, “HEart for the King”, at the Artery Post-modern Gallery.
Plain paper takes on intricate and meaningful forms in Shin’s hands. He’s been making this art, primarily portraits, since 2005, drawing influence from religion and politics and his own social surroundings, which he regards as a microcosm of modern society.
“Paper is just an ordinary object we’re all accustomed to,” he told The Nation at the opening last week, held separately at Siam Paragon. “But paper has two sides, the same as society and everything else around us. I find the dichotomy of all existence fascinating.
“I’m interested in social phenomena and I tried to approach the essence of them. The closer I got, though, the more I realised there is no essence! I think it’s already intrinsic that we are being judged and evaluated by the inherent value of our things. From that viewpoint, I began to understand why social classes are divided along economic lines, in terms of dominance and subordination and so on.”
The religion that interests Shin most is Buddhism, with its teachings about emptiness.
“When you look at a Buddha paper sculpture, you know what it is – it’s very simple and plain to see,” he said. “But what’s more important is what you see in the tiny little empty spaces between the layers.
“The sculpture is made of paper and so is the void between the layers. I hope this aspect gets you thinking about existence of all things – what they appear to be, what they really are, and what you think they are.”
In a frank expression of his admiration, Shin spent several months creating the free-standing sculptures and busts of His Majesty for “HEart for the King”, seeking to honour his virtue.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done portraits of a living person,” he enthused. “There are many countries that still have kings, but the king of Thailand is very special and symbolic. I have never seen a king like this. Plus, the fact that this series is on display during the month of his birthday makes the exhibition even more special.”
Another must-see exhibition is Chalermchai’s “Praise the Buddha through Spirit”, at Siam Paragon through December 14.
These are rarely seen Buddhism-inspired paintings and sculptures that also pay homage to His Majesty, meticulously created from the artist’s memories of serving the King when the Royal Household commissioned him to illustrate the monarch’s storybook “Mahajanaka”.
Chalermchai says His Majesty prodded him to create art that reflected the virtue, purity and compassion of his reign. The effort spanned architecture, painting and sculpture.
“I created the Buddha images with a purity of mind,” he explains. “These are Buddhist works of art that emphasise delicacy and aesthetics. I believe there are spirits and supernatural powers in these pieces, without having had to conduct any ceremony to consecrate them.”
Calling the work costly and difficult, Chalermchai hopes that viewers will enjoy them for their aesthetic quality, not as images to worship. In the olden days all Buddha images were beautiful, he points out, but that quality began to decline when they were mass-produced for commercial purposes during the Rattanakosin Era.
“Joyfulness of the Reign of King Rama IX”, an acrylic painting, and “His Loving Kindness and Grace”, painted specifically for this exhibition, are among the standouts. So too are the sculptures “Loving Kindness Buddha of the Reign of King Rama IX”, a bronze rendering of Gautama that, at three metres tall, is the largest Chalermchai has made. It took more than three years to make.
There are also Buddha images and coins in gold, silver and other metals bearing the number “9”, an “auspicious” number that is both the theme of the exhibition and an allusion to His Majesty as the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty.