Wilawan Wiangthong (b. 1990, Wang Sa Phoong, Loei) is a daughter of the Esan region, born into a multi-ethnic area criss-crossed by routes of trade and commerce. This background provides her with a creativity unbound by medium, using fieldwork to explore the limitations and capabilities for human adaptation by cutting through the boundary between nature and man-made creations. Wilawan explores how people are driven by objects of entertainment and technology, borne from cultivation and propagation, pointing to the potent human desire to modify the nature of animals, plants, and micro-organisms for their own gain, all while ignoring or outright harming them. Wilawan gained these insights through her observations of an abandoned bird-breeding site, an island where people abandoned their dogs, and an elderly snake wrangler working for meager earnings.
In 2023, Wilawan produced the work “The Cowgirl”, a robot-like machine controlled through mixed-media materials to mimic the mannerisms of a cow. The work was the result of her exploration of the lives of cows and buffalos in the livestock market dominated by male ranchers, located on the outskirts of Khon Kaen city. Wilawan aims to reveal the obscured role of agriculture assets, referencing the process of birth from a female body and how the genitals of female cows are considered factors of production.
Furthermore, Wilawan is also interested in the art of ‘transformation’ or the assuming of a different identity. From genetic psychology, oral history, or passed-on knowledge that allows her to relate back to a memory regarding family, a cross-national romance that is not only extensively parodied and retold in popular media, only to convey the malleability of people on a personal and social level. Wilawan counts these countless stories as the foundation of knowledge that drives the senses, as these small knowledge sets can be disseminated into daily life, be they through spiritual rituals or popular performances.
Wilawan has participated in exhibitions both domestic and international, including: “The Cowgirl” in S.O.E. 2: We Trade Everything, Khon Kaen (2023); “Crossplay” by Phifa collective, Kultx Khon Kaen (2022); “The Enclose Garden Multi Sensory” with “Heroines’ Wave”, an international female artists collectives (2021); “The Blue war” series at the Day of Performance Art in Lviv School of Performance Art, Ukraine (2019); “Gruel series” at the Undisclosed Territory Live Arts Festival #11: We Are What We Eat Performance Art Festival, Indonesia (2018); “Balloon series” at the Xi’an International Performance Art Festival, Xi’an, China (2016); and most recently, “Into the Oyster Heaven” at Siao-Long Cultural Park, Tainan, Taiwan. Wilawan completed both her undergraduate and graduate level studies at the Department of Mixed Media, Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University.
Profile picture and bio provided by the artist.
Writings:
CORPUS SACRUM: Reclaiming corporeal sublimation in Wilawan Wiangthong’s performance, Performance, Artforum, May 8 2024, 11:16 am.