• Orawan_Arunrak_Rituals_on_Walking_web-res

    Orawan Arunrak, Rituals on Walking, 2022. Audio walk with a performance outfit identical to the one my mother wore while selling food and drinks on the train at Hua Lamphong Station. Presented as part of Ghost2565: Live Without Dead Time, curated by Christina Li, held from October 12 to November 13, 2022, across venues in Bangkok. Photo: Kanteera Sanguantung. Courtesy of the artist

  • Orawan_Arunrak_After_This_web-res

    Orawan Arunrak, After This…, 2022. 2 paintings on linen, 32 drawings on snack plates, 2 garden figures (from Bianka and Adrian), 82 writings on cards in 3 languages (Thai, English, German) in an index wooden box, folding suitcase table with 4 stools. BPA// Exhibition 2022. Curator: Léon Kruijswijk. Assistant Curator: Anna-Lisa Scherfose. Installation view of BPA// Exhibition 2022 at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Frank Sperling.

  • Orawan_Arunrak_Berlin_Bangkok_web-res

    Orawan Arunrak, Berlin-Bangkok, 2023, installation view of See You at the Studio!, an exhibition by KfW Stiftung in cooperation with Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin. Photo : Wolfgang Bellwinkel.

  • Orawan_Arunrak_Resizing_web-res

    Orawan Arunrak, Resizing, 2024. Iron, carpet, sketch, collage, air-drying modeling clay, and pencil. Installation view of 'Studio Visits', Aranya Art Center, China. Photo : Sun Shi.

  • Orawan_Arunrak_The_4_Foundations_web-res

    Orawan Arunrak, Installation view: Orawan Arunrak, The 4 Foundations, December 16, 2023-January 27, 2024, BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY, Bangkok. Photo: Wolfgang Bellwinkel.

Orawan Arunrak (Thailand) explores cultural survival through drawing and storytelling, mapping relationships with spaces and people. She focuses on details of daily life, missing stories, and how these can serve as keys to larger narratives. Using everyday materials in adaptable installations to foster community engagement, her work reflects the dynamics of cultural interactions beyond landmarks.   

During her residency, she will continue developing The Nirat of Parallel Rails, expanding on Rituals on Walking, 2022, to link family experiences from working on trains with an exploration of survival and life strategies in different places. The work incorporates writing and reading poetry in the form of Nirat – a form of Thai poetry that describes personal journeys, expressing feelings of longing or reflection. Complemented by visual storytelling via elements of lettering inspired by human body structures and architecture, these elements combine to convey the symbolic meaning of home and language. 

Orawan Arunrak’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Aranya Art Center (China, 2024), Kunstverein in Hamburg (Germany, 2023), Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin, 2023), KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin, 2022), Bundeskunsthalle (Bonn, Germany, 2022), Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart (Berlin, 2021), MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum (Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2019), BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY (Bangkok, 2019, 2023), and the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle (Warsaw, Poland, 2016). 

Orawan was born in Thailand and is currently based between Berlin and Bangkok. 

With support from:

Delfina’s Network of Asia-Pacific Patrons and Bangkok CityCity.

Artist’s website

Link

Tags

, ,

Please note all artist-in-residence biographies are accurate at the time of their residency. For up-to-date bios please visit the artist’s website.