Aracha Cholitgul, ‘The Study of A Long Distance Relationship’
Nova Contemporary, Thailand
Through April 20, 2021
"This beautiful, buoyant exhibition unpacks ideas of home and belonging. Instead of entering a typically stark white cube, Thai artist Aracha Cholitgul invites you into a poetic, domestic space with furnishings from her childhood home such as a carpet and leather armchair as well as curtains and a drawing adorned with small fridge magnets.
Mountains are a leitmotif in the show and appear to symbolise the stability and grounding of her family home. In each work, however, there is a tension between her desire to cling to the familiar and venture into the unknown. For instance, she paints a simple landscape scene on the seat of the brown armchair and adds four wheels to the bottom. In another corner of the gallery sits LDR-Moving Mountain No.1, 2020 a wood sculpture depicting a cross-section of a mountain which also has wheels suggesting the artist’s strong desire for movement, journey and change.
In a deliberate nod to a bathroom interior, Cholitgul has also created an installation of celadon ceramic tiles on one wall. The tiles are shaped like a simple mountain range above which she places an Ikea shelf with a yellow vase filled with tiger balm—a traditional Asian ointment–representing the sun. Encountering works like this, it’s as if we are viewing the world from a child’s eyes filled with wonder and imagination. At the same time, we are also see the perspective of a wistful adult looking towards new horizons."
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