Art viewers are asked to ponder what human life is during "Naked Exhibition", which kicks off today and runs until Jan 16, at RCB Photographers' Gallery 1 on the 2nd floor of River City Bangkok, Charoen Krung 24.
On display are portraits and anatomy of both people and animals by Chaowut Cholchalathan who took inspiration from an exhibition of real corpses that he visited when he was a teenager.
He was intrigued by the aesthetics of anatomy and began to wonder about the body's deterioration and metamorphosis and human existence.
"What exactly is human life?", "The body, ideas, memories, and perceptions … is this really what it means to be a human being?" and "Will our identity still exist if those things perish?" were among the questions he raised.
He sought answers from science, philosophy and religion and concluded that the end of all things is nothing. The fact goes in line with Buddhist teaching about anatta, which means there is no unchanging, no permanent self or soul in living beings and no lasting essence.
This exhibition challenges viewers to question "life" through a five-step journey that will bring them to investigate the unavoidable truth that all existences must face, which is "deterioration" at the level of identity, skin, muscle, bone, and abstraction.
Minerals and abstract shapes are incorporated into the artworks to symbolise the decay of organisms that have become minerals and the origins of life. It cycles back and forth into a birth-and-death cycle.
His artworks combine painting, sculpting, and handicrafts with a variety of printing innovations, a method he mastered and has helped him win international competitions, to create one-of-a-kind artwork and a brand-new realm for viewers to explore.
There is no admission fee. Visit rivercitybangkok.com or call 02-237-0077/8.
