Home > Past Exhibitions > 1999 Asian Installations > Sutee Kunavichayanont

Sutee Kunavichayanont born 1965, Thailand Siamese Breath (Twins), 1999 silicone, hoses, steel, filters, stainless bowl In Siamese Breath (Twins), Kunavichayanont explores the interaction of western culture - with it's infusion of international commerce and English language media - on the culture of Thailand, a traditional culture with a smaller scale local commerce, strongly informed by Buddist beliefs. He observes that at times, the two cultures exist in harmony supporting each other. At other times, the cultures are in conflict. At the Mattress Factory, six pairs of life-sized silcone "Siamese twins," one yellow, one white, are joined at different parts of the body. For Kunavichayanont, these twins symbolize the relationship between the west and Thailand. Visitors participate in the the installation by blowing into the structures to inflate them to full size. Each "twin" is self contained - the air used in one does not pass through to the other. When the visitor stops blowing into the sculpture, it deflates, hanging limply on a steel structure. The even or uneven inflation of the twins by visitors is the experience of his work at that moment. Born in Bangkok in 1965, Sutee's works have been exhibited internationally.