Kongsak Kampakdee – Society of Freedom

Richard Koh Projects (RKP) is pleased to announce Thai artist Kongsak Kampakdee (b. 1996) first solo exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand. Titled, Society of Freedom, it is slated to run from 25 September until 16 October at Richard Koh Projects, 2198, Art Warehouse, Unit A, 3rd Floor N22, 10-11 Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road, Chong Nonsi, Yan Nawa, Bangkok 10120, Thailand.

Kongsak presents a body of paintings that depicts scenes of Thai youths participating in motorcycle modification activities in garage spaces. Thailand has been known as ‘Land of Smiles’ and has also been notoriously dubbed on the street as ‘Land of 1000 Scooters’. The affordable cost, compactly built, and convenience have made the motorcycle to be the nation’s vehicular preference to confront and navigate the nation’s traffic. Like in most countries, it is illegal to modify vehicular parts without seeking approval from the nation’s Department of Land Transport. These paintings draw compositions of subdued drama out of commonplace subjects layered with meaning to invite narrative interpretations of free expressions of ideas from regulations in everyday life. Painted in hues of yellow and sepia tones, these scenes display covert acts of defiance and liberation for practicality and individualism expressed through modifications of these automobile bodies.

Kongsak Kampakdee (b.1996, Khonkaen, Thailand) studied at the Holly redeemer Northeastern Region School in 2007 at Khonkaen and graduated in Faculty of Painting , Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand in 2021. First exhibition Huk Mum at I-box gallery in Nakhon phathom.