In this coming year 2013, 100 Tonson Gallery celebrates their 10th year anniversary with highlight exhibitions by their represented artists. Starting with their very first show in the snake year, “Holy-Production”, a solo exhibition by a talented young Thai artist, Prateep Suthathongthai. The artist received a great deal of positive feedback on his work in the exhibition “Take/Turn” (2009).
The artist focuses on people’s faith, belief, and credulity in Thai society. He provides an example of amulet (sacred object) online market trend, which have been, appraised base on collection demand and speculation.
Prateep says, “In this unstable society, it’s quite hard to develop any tools to help and approve all mysteriousness. No matter if it is necessary to know or not, many people are eager to know about what will happen in the future by praying and offering sacrifice sacred objects, including objects that are made to be a sacred thing. They would rather know the future than being in the present. These are somehow considered and guaranteed an assurance in daily life. People believe that it will affect what will happen in the future. The reproduction of sacred objects is based on demand and also provokes the demand itself in the same time. This contemporary faith is about beliefs and trading an enormous amount of money, and they cannot be separated.”
About the Artist:
Born in 1980, Bangkok. Prateep Suthathongthai graduated with BFA from Rajamangara Institute of Technology, Bangkok in 2001 and MFA from Silpakorn University, Bangkok in 2006. He held solo exhibitions “Take Turn” in 2009, “Thai in Tai in Thai” in 2008 (part of Brandnews 2008, the art exhibition of outstanding young artist) and “Appearance” in 2006. Moreover, he has participated in the group exhibitions both overseas and in Thailand such as “Nuova {Arte} Povera”, Hong Kong in 2012, “Wonderland”, Bangkok in 2011, “Singapore International Photography Festival”, Singapore, 2010 “Unreal Asia, (as part of 55th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen)”, Germany, 2009, “Sea Art Festival”, Busan Biennale 2008, Korea, 2008, “MORE TO LOVE : The Art of Living Together”, Bangkok, 2008, “La vidéo thaï (as part of Videoformes 2007)”, France, 2007, “What about WATER Short cuts”, Iceland, 2006 “Ghost of the Coast”, Australia in 2006. Moreover, he received Grand Prize of Asian New Media Art Competition in 2007, Jakarta, Indonesia.