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Lot Essay
The narrative texture of acclaimed Thai artist Natee Utarit's paintings is shaped through their passages of subtle stasis, eloquent silence; and the juxtaposition of carefully selected, evocative forms against an emptied, almost void background.
Alice in Ordinary Land is a reference to the Lewis Carroll story of a girl who went headfirst down a rabbit hole and discovered a wonderland of miracles and intrigue. The first impression which strikes a viewer, familiar with the iconic drawings of Carroll's illustrator John Tenniel or the subsequent Disney renditions, is that Utarit's representation of the character of 'Alice' is atypical. Utarit's 'Alice' is a little pink doll with a miniature pot plant by her side, as if for scale, facing a wasteland in undulating tones of warm gray. The doll reminds us of the penny toys from Christmas crackers or gumball machines, while the background appears to have been fabricated from a creased sheet of paper or cloth, imitating a distant horizon topped by a snowy mountain range.
However Utarit's fascination with the theme of childhood goes beyond visual mimesis in the pictorial composition alone. To Utarit, 'Alice' is a metaphor for the unyielding gaze of childhood innocence when confronted with an unlikely, almost apocalyptic vision. In his artist statement for his solo exhibition, Tales of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Utarit explains how his works engage with fairy tales, fables and folklore, and "how these affect our collective memory and colour our understanding of society". The age-old tales which have stayed with us since childhood, acquiring the comfortable familiarity of a fuzzy security blanket, are suddenly interpreted through a different artistic filter. Utarit turns the didacticism and morality of the original stories on their head, challenging a viewer to redefine past boundaries and plunging us into the whimsical realm of his make-believe.
The semiotic progression within Utarit's works is vague, leading to a subterfuge of specific meaning. Occasionally glimpses of Utarit's true intentions flash through, for instance in his use of associative colours. Pink, within his native Thailand, is considered to be a particularly lucky colour. The pink doll becomes invested with an auspicious aura, beyond its usual connotations of sweetness and naivet?, and appears to imply the protected sanctity and sacredness of childhood. Although Alice may fall through the rabbit hole, she comes out unscathed on the other end, rather the better for wear.
Natee Utarit's 'Alice' however, is not destined for wonderland. The artist places her into what he terms 'ordinary land'; transferring her from her magical playground to that of the everyday. Faced with contemporary reality, Alice exemplifies the challenges of retaining a wide-eyed prescience in the face of existential adversity. Without the thrilling Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit becoming a red herring, and the tropes of childhood fantasy firmly relegated to the imagination; Alice in Ordinary Land is a subtle invocation to reach within ourselves to constantly create the magic and allure of fairytales. Attempting to tap into the psyche of the childhood vernacular, Utarit unlocks the source of our latent memories, the secret emotions, wishes and desires which have been buried under the everyday, the 'ordinary land' of our existence.
Alice in Ordinary Land is a reference to the Lewis Carroll story of a girl who went headfirst down a rabbit hole and discovered a wonderland of miracles and intrigue. The first impression which strikes a viewer, familiar with the iconic drawings of Carroll's illustrator John Tenniel or the subsequent Disney renditions, is that Utarit's representation of the character of 'Alice' is atypical. Utarit's 'Alice' is a little pink doll with a miniature pot plant by her side, as if for scale, facing a wasteland in undulating tones of warm gray. The doll reminds us of the penny toys from Christmas crackers or gumball machines, while the background appears to have been fabricated from a creased sheet of paper or cloth, imitating a distant horizon topped by a snowy mountain range.
However Utarit's fascination with the theme of childhood goes beyond visual mimesis in the pictorial composition alone. To Utarit, 'Alice' is a metaphor for the unyielding gaze of childhood innocence when confronted with an unlikely, almost apocalyptic vision. In his artist statement for his solo exhibition, Tales of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Utarit explains how his works engage with fairy tales, fables and folklore, and "how these affect our collective memory and colour our understanding of society". The age-old tales which have stayed with us since childhood, acquiring the comfortable familiarity of a fuzzy security blanket, are suddenly interpreted through a different artistic filter. Utarit turns the didacticism and morality of the original stories on their head, challenging a viewer to redefine past boundaries and plunging us into the whimsical realm of his make-believe.
The semiotic progression within Utarit's works is vague, leading to a subterfuge of specific meaning. Occasionally glimpses of Utarit's true intentions flash through, for instance in his use of associative colours. Pink, within his native Thailand, is considered to be a particularly lucky colour. The pink doll becomes invested with an auspicious aura, beyond its usual connotations of sweetness and naivet?, and appears to imply the protected sanctity and sacredness of childhood. Although Alice may fall through the rabbit hole, she comes out unscathed on the other end, rather the better for wear.
Natee Utarit's 'Alice' however, is not destined for wonderland. The artist places her into what he terms 'ordinary land'; transferring her from her magical playground to that of the everyday. Faced with contemporary reality, Alice exemplifies the challenges of retaining a wide-eyed prescience in the face of existential adversity. Without the thrilling Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit becoming a red herring, and the tropes of childhood fantasy firmly relegated to the imagination; Alice in Ordinary Land is a subtle invocation to reach within ourselves to constantly create the magic and allure of fairytales. Attempting to tap into the psyche of the childhood vernacular, Utarit unlocks the source of our latent memories, the secret emotions, wishes and desires which have been buried under the everyday, the 'ordinary land' of our existence.