Open Letter to the Curator Lim Jong-young
and Gwangju Museum of Art
18
May 2016
Re: In support of
the exhibition ‘The Truth – To Turn It Over’ by Sutee Kunavichayanont
Dear Mr. Lim
Jong-young,
Regarding
the news on social media and some Thai newspapers that you have received a
letter from a group of Thai people protesting the exhibition ‘The Truth – To
Turn It over’ by Professor Sutee Kunavichayanont, which claims that the artist
and his work are “anti-democratic” because he took part in the mass ‘Shutdown
Bangkok’ protest, leading to the coup d’etat. These reports mention that you
are considering how to proceed in this matter.
As
artists who also fight for democracy, we send this message to you in support of
your selection and exhibition of this work, which is both highly appropriate
and reflective of the struggle for democracy by Thai artists.
The
accusation that this work is “anti-democratic” because the artist participated
in the ‘Shutdown Bangkok’ protests by PDRC, and thereby caused the military to
take power, is unacceptable, shallow and not based on reason and facts.
The
prolonged mass protest for justice participated in by Sutee along with millions
of other pure-hearted citizens from here in Bangkok and nationwide, was a
struggle against a parliamentary dictatorship that was attempting to pass into
law the obscene Amnesty Bill to help former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra escape his two-year prison sentence for corruption; and the person
pushing through this law was his sister Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, the PM at the
time. Along with her government’s conspiracy to rob taxpayers in her populist
‘Rice-Pledging Scheme’, which has caused trillions of baht of losses to the
country. (Haven’t the Koreans also faced a similar struggle?)
Such
a struggle cannot be called by any other name except a fight for democracy.
That is precisely what Sutee and all of us here are engaged in. A careful study
of Sutee’s work history will reveal that he has never ever called for or
supported dictatorship in any shape or form. On the contrary!
A
military coup d’etat is not the desired object of any fighter for democracy.
Coup d’etats cannot occur without adequate reason and factors, namely violence.
Why is the group protesting against Sutee’s work laying the blame solely on the
Shutdown Bangkok protesters? Why have they attributed no blame on the
parliamentary dictatorship that is the cause of it all?
Sutee’s
work is blameless and has nothing whatsoever to do with the coup d’etat. Please
read the words featured in Sutee’s work. This work was born in the context of a
protest against the government then in power.
Therefore,
we are asking you to be conscious and aware of these things, and to stand up
against this ‘smear campaign’ targeting the dignity and reputation of Sutee
Kunavichayanont, an artist who has always fought for democracy for so long. We
apologise that you and your organisation have been forced to become entangled
in Thailand’d highly complex politics amidst the PR-lobby war for hearts and
minds and ultimately self-interest and power.
Respectfully
and Sincerely Yours,
Manit
Sriwanichpoom
(Participating Artist, Gwangju Biennale 2006)
Vasan
Sitthiket
(Participating Artist, Gwangju Biennale 2004)
