Vasan Sitthiket

Vasan Sitthiket (Thai: วสันต์ สิทธิเขตต์; RTGS: Wasan Sitthikhet; born on 7 October 1957 in Nakhon Sawan province, Thailand) is a Thai contemporary visual artist. A graduate of the College of Fine Arts in Bangkok, he has works in many fields, including painting and poetry. He has staged three plays, written more than 10 books of poetry, children's books and political writings.

Vasan Sitthiket
วสันต์ สิทธิเขตต์
Vasan in 2008
Born (1957-10-07) 7 October 1957
Nakhon Sawan, Thailand
EducationCollege of Fine Arts, Bangkok
Known forPainting, sculpture, performance art
AwardsSilpathorn Award
2007 Visual arts

Works

Active since the 1970s, Vasan's works are often provocative and political in nature. One of his works was a performance art piece involving fake rubber breasts and buttocks and a simulated rape of the entire nation of Thailand.[1]

In 2000, an exhibition of a new collection that included 50 paintings featuring Thai politicians and military officers in sexually compromising poses was cancelled by Chulalongkorn University, five days before it was to open.[2] At the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003, he displayed some large-scale portraits of George W. Bush and other world leaders, created on canvas by using custom-made rubber stamps.[3] Vasan's media has also included drawings, woodcut prints, ceramic sculpture, installations and performances.

In 2005, he set up the Artist Party, a political art project that mocked the then-ruling Thai Rak Thai party and prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.[4] He has supported the People's Alliance for Democracy ("Yellow Shirts") against Thaksin. The group has used his artwork as backgrounds for their demonstration stages, on their T-shirts and propaganda outlets, and Vasan appeared at the rallies to recite poems or perform music.[5][6]

In 2007, he received the Silpathorn Award in Visual Arts.[7][8]

References
  1. Gearing, Julian (2 October 1998). "Painted into a corner". AsiaWeek. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  2. Shankar, Lekha (20 October 2000). "An artist at war". AsiaWeek. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  3. "Thailand: Vasan Sitthiket, 50th Venice Biennial 2003". Universes-in-universe.de. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. Phataranawanik, Phatarawadee (25 August 2007). "Culture sphere: Mavericks and familiar faces at the Silpathorn Awards". The Nation (Thailand). Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
  5. Veal, Clare (November 2012), "Collective Ruptures: Visually Documenting the Precarious Nature of Thai Politics after 2010" (PDF), Modern Art Asia (11): 16, archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2016, retrieved 9 March 2013
  6. "Vasan Sitthiket, Thailand's "anarchist" artist - CNN Travel". Modernartasia.com. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  7. "รายละเอียดศิลปิน: วสันต์ สิทธิเขตต์". ocac.go.th (in Thai). Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. Jansuttipan, Monruedee (16 January 2014). "Artist and Activist Vasan Sitthiket on Reforming Thailand". BK Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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