Artist : Chatchai Puipia
Technique : Oil on canvas
Year : 1999
Size : 200 x 510 cm.
One hundred and one years after Paul Gaugain’s Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? 1898 masterpiece, Chatchai Puipia completes his version just in time for his upcoming solo exhibition he was actively avoiding.
Chatchai is probably one of the most elusive and interesting artists to come out of Bangkok’s contemporary art generation. As a pivotal member of said group, his works not only have marked multiple happenings in Thai art history but also narrated a relatable tale of an artist who just wants to ‘be’ and left to work riding his own waves.
The Where Are We From? Who Are we? Where Are We Going? 101 years after Gaugain painting was a part of a collection of works produced right around a time of great uncertainty and pressure for him. Faced with personal troubles and the heavy expectations of producing works, without telling anyone, Chatchai decided to take a momentary break and flew to America with New Orleans in mind. During a transit in San Francisco, Chatchai stumbled upon a travel diary by Paul Gaugain, of when he left for Tahiti after being disillusioned by European society’s morals in 1891. Chatchai picked it up. Having never been a devoted admirer or know much about the artist, Chatchai surprised himself by relating to the diary and its content. After a few days of indulging in New Orleans’ music and culture, Paul Gaugain’s words and artwork created during his Tahitian days slowly seeped into Chatchai’s consciousness. Upon returning to Thailand, Chatchai found strength and will to produce work which made the deadline for the exhibition just in time. This exhibition was subsequently called “On the way to see Buddha, Encountered Gauguin passing by, I think twice” held at The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in 1999.
The painting is a direct appropriation of the original or it can also be seen as a pictorial translation into Thai-art-history language; from the tableau’s composition to exactly how the title of the painting is featured on the top left corner. In Paul Gaugain’s painting, he illustrates a life cycle punctuated by a Tahitian woman and other cultural symbolic signifiers. Made to be read from left to right, Chatchai also adhered to this concept. Found in Chatchai’s version, there are multiple representational cues about works that won awards at the National Exhibition of Art such as the portrait of Silpa Bhirasri and Khien Yimsiri’s Musical Rhythm can be spotted amongst other National Artists’ works of Thailand. To the lower right, lying on his side, is Chatchai’s head with his eyes looking blankly into the void, Questioning: “Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going?”