WHAT WE KNOW

Born in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Mit Jai Inn is a boundary-defying painter and social activist. After attending art school in Bangkok, he continued his studies at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, while working as late artist Franz West’s assistant. After returning to Thailand in 1992, he founded a socio-politically involved art initiative, the CARTEL Artspace, helping local artists shape the Thai contemporary art scene.

WHY WE LOVE IT

Mit Jai Inn’s works defy traditional mediums of art and are often both painting and sculpture at once. His signature pieces involve colourful, blotted, and cut canvas strips reassembled into curtain or scroll shapes. His latest series consists of colourful strips of canvas and are hung from the ceiling for audience interaction.

The title of this exhibition was inspired by a short-lived politically active Facebook group in Thailand called ‘The Royalist Marketplace’ launched in April 2020. The group’s members, including Mit himself, discussed the Thai monarchy freely, only to be abruptly banned by the Thai government in August 2020. Mit’s works partially speak of his home country’s politics, and moreover celebrate resistance against absolute power.