Tada Hengsapkul
Liste Year
Year of Birth
Country of Birth
Presented by
2023
1987
Thailand
Nova
Melodically eruptive, this body of work exemplifies Tada Hengsapkul’s distinct multimedia approach, combining en plein air and pyrotechnic methods to convey ecological, political, and emotional release.
In Between, 2022
Smoke bomb on watercolor paper
29.7 x 42 cm
Hengsapkul’s In Between series unfolds across the booth, creating cacophonies of texture and form. A sense of propulsive musicality defines the works, some impelled by diagonal bursts of smoke bomb ignition, others punctuated by gunpowder and firework accents. The pieces appear near synesthetic, as if one can hear their vibrance and velocity. Hengsapkul first devised of the smoke bomb as an artistic medium after witnessing its deployment in youth protests, emblemizing the explosive as a token of civil disobedience. Using art as a form of nonviolent action, his practice forms an act of allian ...
Moving beyond the aesthetics of weather, Hengsapkul ideates the wind as an analogy for speech, imagining the ripples of discourse and rebellion against censorship. His interest in the expressive and circulatory is exemplified by the central piece, Topography, where his signature smoke bomb technique is dispersed across a panoramic grid of paper coins. Made to react to wind, the work flickers in constant movement, shifting its surface each time it is viewed. The resulting experience holds the intimate intensity of a whisper, enabling the possibility of unassuming transformation. Hengsapkul di ...
Topography, 2022
Smoke bomb, Watercolor paper, Laminated Medium Density Fiberboard, Rivet aluminum, Persian wood
120 x 80 x 3.5 cm
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Working across a range of diverse media,Tada Hengsapkul (b.1987, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand) investigates the tensions between control and dissent, establishing his practice as a mode of radical resistance in itself. First reaching critical acclaim for his photographic and video works, Hengsapkul’s oeuvre has long been underscored by extensive political research. Though grounded in political history, his works are also intimately autobiographical, often citing personal relationships and sites from his hometown in Northeast Thailand that were affected by war and authoritarian power. In recent years, Hengsapkul has pivoted towards a dynamic abstract approach, combining en-plein-air and pyrotechnic methods.
Despite the variance of his chosen materials, his practices is united in their advocacy for freedom and agency. Hengsapkul’s works ultimately extend beyond their roots in Thailand and its history, maintaining universal relevance in a contemporary landscape where censorship and omission are becoming increasingly rampant.