“Are you eating?” is a common Thai phrase that is welcoming and shows hospitality.
As a visiting artist in Chiang Dao, I was invited into a community of theatre makers who shared a sincere hospitality—in line with this phrase—that precipitated a unique exhibition. This exhibition explored Makhampo Community Theater's 40-year photographic archive, as well as stories from founding members of the group.
For this project, I created a four-room installation, suggestive of the different spatialities that "create" a theatre: the backstage, the dressing room, for example. These rooms were embedded with narratives that detailed the theatre group's genesis; stories that I curated and held in pursuit of a meaningful and reflective space.
The orange blankets in the images below are provided by a local monastery for those in need. When the Makhampo Community Theater first began, the founding members would sleep under these blankets on the stage area—a materiality and history I tried to honour throughout this project.
Details
Makhampo Community Theater, Chiang Dao | August 2019 | Commissioned by Makhampo Community Theater (40th Anniversary programme) | Collaborator: Preechayut Art Chang
c. Dean West, 2019
c. Dean West, 2019
c. Dean West, 2019
c. Dean West, 2019
