Artist’s Choice: Paper and Lines – Lying Mountains

‘I use paper in Lying Mountain because it serves as a fundamental material widely employed in artistic creations. I intentionally utilize wavy lines and zigzag lines along with basic triangular shapes to portray mountains in a way that remind us of how we used to draw them during our childhood. By referencing shared experiences and common hardships encountered by many people, my aim is to present simplified mountain forms on a basic material like paper to enable a broad and accessible understanding.’ 

– Surajate, interview with 16albermarle Project Space 2023.

Think About/Discuss:

Surajate speaks of paper as an ‘accessible and basic’ material. Why do you think it is important for Surajate to use a material of this nature? 

To help unpack this material choice use the Lying Mountains series and Surajate’s earlier exhibition artwork Priceless in 16albermarle’s exhibition Other Possible Worlds (2022), to examine Surajate’s complex use of new, found and recontextualised paper. 

Surajate draws a strong attention to the relationship between childhood memory and the landscape. In his quote he speaks to an artistic choice to use simple shapes reminiscent of childhood drawings and the way in which he viewed the world at a younger age. In many of Surajate’s works there is little separation between the understanding and remembering of his physical world and his experiences as a Thai citizen.

How is our worldview shaped by our own past experiences and upbringings?
Individually or as a class brainstorm some of the values and beliefs that are similar or different to you and identify the origin of their existence. 

With simple drawing materials and a piece of paper, as a class, choose a natural object such as a tree or body of water. Each spend a few minutes creating an artwork that illustrates your version of this natural object. Afterwards, spend a moment reflecting and then discussing why, where and how you learnt to use the shapes and lines that formed that object.