Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Art Basel Hong Kong
Jakkai Siributr

Booth 1B25
21 - 25 March 2023
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Overview

Flowers Gallery is delighted to participate in Art Basel Hong Kong 2023, with a solo presentation by Jakkai Siributr. One of today’s leading Thai artists, Jakkai is known for his intricately handmade tapestries, quilts and installations, which convey powerful responses to contemporary and historical societal issues in South East Asia.

The Outlaw's Flag (2017) is an installation of 21 imagined flags embroidered with beads and fishing nets. Gathered in Sittwe, the materials allude to the displacement of the Rohingyas, the ethnic Muslim minorities in Myanmar, who escaped religious persecution in the city on boats to Ranong, southern Thailand.

These 21 flags of invented nations integrate colors and emblems from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia and Thailand, referencing the countries implicated in the Rohingya refugee crisis. "A flag in general whether from a country, a sports team or a club is to unite their members. But when religious symbols appear on a flag, it automatically excludes a certain group of people." Siributr says. As well as the assemblage of differently sized, richly colored flags, hung aloft from individual hooks, the installation includes a looping video shot in both Sittwe and Ranong.

Presented in conjunction with The Outlaw's Flag, Blind Faith I, II, III (2011/2019) is made from Thai military uniforms adorned with brass bullet shells, glass beads and ritual objects. These works were previously exhibited in Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art at The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York last year.

The artist explains that the work is “to address the military’s negligence of army conscripts sent to the restive deep south of Thailand....The only thing they can rely on is supernatural powers from various talismans.”

Jakkai Siributr (b.1969) studied Textile and Fine Arts at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; and Printed Textile Design, at Philadelphia University,...
Jakkai Siributr (b.1969) studied Textile and Fine Arts at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; and Printed Textile Design, at Philadelphia University, USA. He has exhibited widely, with notable exhibitions including Exploring the Cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore (2013); Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California, USA; Link Tradition and Future (2012); and the 2nd Chongqing Biennale for Young Artists, The Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Art Institute, Chongqing, China (2011). His works are in the public collections of the National Taiwan Musm of Fine Art, Taiwan; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, USA; Vehbi Koc Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey; and the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.

Online Viewing Room

New paintings by Wu Jiaru and Lau Hiu Tung will be featured in Art Basel's Online Viewing Rooms, as part...
New paintings by Wu Jiaru and Lau Hiu Tung will be featured in Art Basel's Online Viewing Rooms, as part of the digital element of the fair. 
 
Wu Jiaru (b.1992) grew up in a typical Guangdong city in southern China, an area shaped by the entertainment, aesthetic and lifestyle influences that entered the mainland through Hong Kong in the 1990s. Within her practice, Wu examines these cultural exchanges between mainland China and Hong Kong alongside questions of identity and belonging through a variety of mediums, including sculpture, video and painting.
 
Wu Jiaru received her dual BA degrees in Fine Arts and English Language from Tsinghua University in 2014, and her MFA from the School of Creative Media at City University of Hong Kong in 2017. Her works are in the collections of M+, Hong Kong; Burger Collection, Switzerland and private collections globally, and she was the recipient of the New York fellowship grant from the Asian Cultural Council in 2022.
Wu coined the term "godificial" to summarize her contemplation and dissection of the concepts of creation, consciousness, and materiality for this series. In godificial_soul_gate_1, the viewer is presented with an image that seemingly tells the story of an out-of-body experience. The intertwining of black lines and flesh hints at the fusion of man and machine, as the artist asserts that "we are not just becoming, but we are the machines we have created."
 
In, apóstolo_narcissus_i, 2023, Wu culminates her extensive research into mythology and art history. Apóstolo, derived from the ancient Greek word for 'messenger' hints at the mythical themes interwoven throughout the paintings. Wu employs rich symbolism and vivid colors to merge the religious connotations of art history with personal memories, resulting in a thought-provoking reinterpretation.

With the mixed media piece, prólogos_ nyc_v, 2023 (from Greek ππρόλογος prólogos, from πρό pr ó, "bef ore" and λόγος lógos, "word") Wu makes reference to how stories can open with an establishment of the context as well as an allusion to a previous narrative.
Lau Hiu Tung (b.1985) lives and works in London and Hong Kong. Working in a variety of mediums, including painting,...

Lau Hiu Tung (b.1985) lives and works in London and Hong Kong. Working in a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture and performance, she explores themes surrounding gender, sexuality and identity within her practice.

Lau Hiu Tung received her BFA in Painting at the School of Visual Arts in New York, USA and MA in Painting at Royal College of Art in London, UK. Recent external solo and group exhibitions include Don't Kiss me I am in Training at Flowers Hong Kong (2022); DOOR at The Shophouse in Hong Kong (2021); A’fair, Hong Kong (2021 & 2020); A Cow’s Head and a Horse’s Jaw at Karin Weber Gallery in Hong Kong (2021); Don’t Forget to Look at the Moon at Alice Folker Gallery in Denmark (2020); and Dramas of the Human Heart, Hong Kong Fringe Club (2019).

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