People's Gallery

Three Pillow Hybrid Dispersal

Curator: Chatnabadhana Panyaphet         
Artists: Anchalee Teerakhot, Suriya Wongchai, ubatsat, Kritsadank Intasorn

The exhibition Three Pillow Hybrid Dispersal opens a space for audiences to explore the local narrative of Tung Sam Mon (The Field of Three Pillows), rooted in the Tai Lue community of Sridonchai. It reinterprets the notion of dispersal not merely as a physical phenomenon, but as narratives and memories carried along the force of flowing water. This idea also resonates through the Tai Lue’s weaving wisdom, a cultural practice that reflects adaptation and transformation of identity shaped by migration across the Mekong Basin and transmitted from generation to generation. At the same time, the stories of the lower Mekong landscapes reveal the ecological consequences intertwined with the hidden structures of power within the same river, where natural resources continue to be contested across postcolonial borders.

Three Pillows thus becomes a symbolic space of dreams, blending the challenges of coexistence between culture and environment through the collaborative creation between contemporary artists ubatsat, Krissadank Intasorn, and Tai Lue artists Anchalee Theerakhot, Suriya Wongchai, together with a group of Tai Lue women weavers from Sridonchai Subdistrict, Chiang Khong District, Chiang Rai Province. The exhibition emphasizes the value of a learning process in which external artists engage with the community, leading to co-creation and shared expression that fosters human connection. As a form of socially engaged art, the exhibition integrates painting, sculpture, textile art, installation, and video to invite audiences to reflect upon coexistence, transformation, and the fragile balance that continues to shape the cultural and environmental landscape of the contemporary world. Ultimately, the exhibition aspires to cultivate environmental awareness in Northern Thailand, serving as a voice from a remote community along the Mekong River.