Yavuz Fine Art is participating in the second edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, presenting a groundbreaking installation by Jakkai Siributr.

One of Thailand's leading contemporary artists working primarily in the textile medium, Jakkai Siributr (b. 1969) is known for his intricate and meticulously handmade tapestry and installation works that explore social, political and religious tensions in contemporary Thailand.

Specially commissioned by Yavuz Fine Art for Art Basel Hong Kong 2014, 78 is a large-scale, immersive installation that addresses a controversial event in recent Thai political history, while elaborating on Siributr's continuing artistic concerns. The title of the installation refers to the 2004 Tak Bai Incident in Thailand, a violent and controversial incident where political protests led to the deaths of 78 Thai Muslims as they were being transported to a military camp. The installation is modeled on the Ka'aba, the cuboid structure in Saudi Arabia that functions as a unifying focal point for the Islamic world. As viewers enter the cube structure, they experience a claustrophobic corridor that leads them to a smaller room containing rows of trays. On each tray lies a white kurta, a traditional Muslim garment, hand-embroidered with numbers written in Arabic script. There are 78 kurtas in all, one for each of the victims of the Tak Bai Incident. Surrounding the installation is a series of three new tapestries, each comprising hundreds of Buddha amulets shrouded in hand-crocheted hemp.

The work is an ambitious departure for Siributr in terms of scale, an engagement with a specific event in Thai history, and the use of a controversial yet reverential aesthetic that draws on a diverse range of historical symbolism. While imbuing the memory of the deaths at Tak Bai with a pronounced sense of dignity, 78 also demands a consideration of the terrible correspondences between religion and political beliefs that should be considered anathema to each other.

-Yavuz Fine Art

Image: © Jakkai Siributr
Courtesy of the artist and Yavuz Fine Art