The captivating artworks created by Supawich Weesapen are at once mysterious, enigmatic, and elusive, inviting audiences to ponder our connection to the vast universe.
Although he just turned 27 at the end of September, Supawich Weesapen has already made quite a name for himself in Thailand’s contemporary art scene. At the moment he has an installation on display as part of this year’s Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB), but he’s also one of three artists participating in a group show on now at Bangkok’s Nova Contemporary gallery (running until January 11). In addition, he was a featured artist at this year’s Frieze Seoul in early September, and at Art Jakarta 2024 in early October – both times with Nova, the gallery that officially represents him.
Born into the digital age, it’s no surprise that the aesthetics of the virtual world are present in Supawich’s work, which probes the technological present and future. At the same time, he also focuses on the spiritual and the sublime, referencing age-old symbols, omens, and legends. Interestingly, the Covid crisis lockdowns left this lanky and laconic Silpakorn University graduate with plenty of time to ponder, and that ended up greatly influencing his current creative path.
“I went back to my hometown, in Ubon Ratchathani, and I did nothing but scrolling on my mobile phone,” he confesses during our afternoon chat in a café off Rajadamri Road. “I start thinking about my situation, and the condition I was in, and that became a new series called ‘Square Deity’, in which the screen becomes the new god for humans.
While doing research, Supawich stumbled across the mythology of the Tai-Ahom, an ancient ethnic group from the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. He mentions how in their creation myths it was the spider who created the sky, which resulted in a small epiphany.
“I thought, that’s so perfect because on the internet we use ‘websites’, so that’s the key that can link the screen and the sky together,” he remarks, adding that when we look at the sky we feel we’re part of the universe, but when we look at the stars on mobile phone we become disconnected. “So I attempt to connect the phone and sky together as one.”
Using his iPhone 13 to show me the initial renderings of his BAB installation – now on display in the National Gallery of Thailand – he first points out a large copper coil meant to resemble a Chinese finger trap toy, underscoring how addictive mobile phones “suck in our fingers”, almost like a black hole. In another part of his multi-faceted installation a thin column of sai sin (the Buddhist “holy strings” used by monks) hangs suspended over a transmitter, suggesting both spiritual power and the wires that connect everything in our 21st century world. And on the back wall sits one of Supawich’s instantly recognisable oil paintings, which he reveals is titled The Starry Web.
This same sci-fi quality was also evident in the works by Supawich that Nova Contemporary took to South Korea for Frieze Seoul. Consisting of 10 paintings and one sculpture, he describes that project as “looking at the stars in a poetic way”.
“Light from the stars comes to us from other side of universe, yet somehow we feel connected. It’s like a door or a portal to somewhere so far away, and we feel like we’re dancing with the universe,” he says, referencing the famous quote by the American poet Maya Angelou: “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.”
“I changed it to a skipping rope, so we’re not dancing, but jumping rope with the universe,” he grins, moving his hands in a circular motion to make the wrapper spin accordingly. "
This playful perspective will no doubt also work its way into the pieces he’ll be displaying in the group show at Nova – entitled ‘In Saying These Things, I Went To Sleep’ – where he shares the spotlight with Christian Quin Newell, from London, and the Taiwan-born but NYC-based artist Cole Lu.
“I’m from a Buddhist family so I was trained to observe how outside influences affect me,” he goes on to say. “My works are mostly paintings of powerful things with auras, and the mysterious unknown. And the space inside… the inner world.
“I’m interested in science, mythology, beliefs, folklore,” he adds. “Some say they’re opposites, but I think they’re the same thing. We’re always connected to everything.”
