Natee Utarit: Déjà vu: The Last… | Exhibitions

Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) Bangkok is delighted to present “Déjà vu: The Last Chapter (Part 3)”, the final installment in a compelling three-part series by renowned Thai artist Natee Utarit. This exhibition will be on display from 22 June to 6 July 2024 at RKFA Bangkok.

“Déjà vu: The Last Chapter” highlights Natee Utarit’s multidisciplinary approach, encompassing painting, sculpture, embroidery, stained glass, and woodcut. Each medium revisits pivotal moments that have influenced Western art forms, inviting viewers to reconsider established narratives of cultural and historical development. The series unfolds over three sequential parts from April to June, allowing audiences to engage deeply with Utarit’s exploration of cultural dialogues and historical reinterpretations.

Déjà vu, referring to the phenomenon of ‘recalling scenes and events as if they have happened before’, elucidates how Utarit’s mind operates by interweaving re-envisionings of the past and present. Initially conceived in 2019, the Déjà vu series begins with Buddha’s hypothetical journey to the West to encounter Greco-Roman culture and other Eastern and Western symbols depicted across the three-part exhibition series.

Driven by a search for identity and an examination of his own colonial conditioning still present in Thailand, Utarit embarks on a reflective analysis of his culture. This journey allows him to engage in colonial discourse through Buddhism, Asia’s spiritual and cultural node. In this self-identification process, the mediums and compositions of his work play a crucial role. Each medium, from painting and sculpture to embroidery, stained glass, and woodcut, corresponds to historical moments that have shaped Western canons.

Part 3, “Déjà vu: The Last Chapter (Part 3)”, focuses on Utarit’s paintings. The featured works challenge historical and cultural improbabilities, sowing the seeds of possibility: What if the sun rose in the West? What if the East, embodied by the figure of the Buddha, met the West? Through these thought-provoking scenarios, the commonalities between different cultures emerge, woven into a new Western/Eastern narrative by the artist’s hand.