Audience, Interpretation and Symbolism – Lying Mountains

Each of Surajate’s works contain a primary context and a sub context. The artist invites his audience to experience the work at first glance, unknowing to prior knowledge of the themes subtle spoken through the metaphoric landscape such as food, tax, power structures, oppression and fear. The audience’s experiences come first, followed by the artists commitment to education through subject composition and points of communication.

Symbolism is crucial to Surajate’s conceptual practice. Lying Mountain visually portrays the grandeur of mountains, but It also holds a deeper connotation relation to the earth beneath. This symbolises the societal positions of the Thai people, specifically royalists, who perceive themselves as the ‘people underneath the first of your feet.’ 

Think About/Discuss:

View the Lying Mountain series and consider the following artist choices and how they contribute to the metaphor of hierarchy in the Thai society:

·       Floating mountains

·       Mountains made of broken lines

·       Mountains made from thin lines

·       Circular formations

Compare and contrast Surajate Tanachua’s artist practice with Julie Mehretu’s Politicized Landscapes (2017).

What does it mean to paint a landscape and be an artist in this political moment? – Julie Mehretu

https://art21.org/watch/extended-play/julie-mehretu-politicized-landscapes-short/