Instruction
Artist
Som Supaparinya
The work of Som Supaparinya (born 1973 in Chiang Mai/Thailand) comprises a multitude of media, including installations, sculptures, still and moving images. It explores the social history of Southeast Asia, the impact of energy infrastructures and their consequences for the environment. In her work, Som Supaparinya examines rural and urban landscapes, interweaving traumatic memories and unsolved political stories. Her work raises critical questions about power dynamics and colonial legacies.
For ‘(re)connecting.earth (02) - Beyond Water’, Som Supaparinya presents the video work ‘Two Sides of the Moon’. It depicts the life of fishermen at the beginning and the end of the Moon River, where it runs into the Mekong on the border between Thailand and Laos. All places – and their inhabitants – are faced with the changes in the river landscape through the construction of a dam, but their stories and the impact on their lives are different. One community has started to learn fishing, while another one counts the names of the fish and tools that were lost. The concept of light and darkness derives from the brightness of the moon and its shadows, and the contrast between the two sides of the river reveals the inequality of fates.
Artwork