Conceived in continuation of 18/28: The Singhaseni Tapestries (2018), a series of embroideries centered on the passing of Siributr’s mother, Matrilineal at 100 Tonson Foundation, Bangkok, hinges on two main concepts: the importance of giving voice to minor narratives from the past by acknowledging their memories and legacies; and the awareness of the impermanence of life, tightly woven into the universal pain of loss and bereavement. 

Framed in this context, Matrilineal marks a first for Jakkai Siributr, in many ways.

Foremost, Matrilineal is an exhibition about the essence of womanhood, intended as a gendered perception. Expanding his ongoing focus on social issues, with Matrilineal Siributr emphasizes the role of significant female figures in his family vis-à-vis the hardship and sacrifices as a shared condition among women in a patriarchal society, regardless of rank or social status. Matrilineal is, therefore, a predominantly intimist exhibition, realized through the artist’s own observation of his relationship with his mother, aunts and grandmother—figures that have shaped him into the person he is today and that have now passed, thus no longer able to tell their stories. As such, the exhibition furthers Siributr’s evolving interest in existential notions of ephemerality and grief, as well as the therapeutic power of art-making.

Known for his iconic use of embroidery, stitching and quilting, Siributr is one of the most notable practitioners of textile art—an artform traditionally considered to be gendered-specific. In further exploring the female-driven approach of the show through this medium, Matrilineal presents an entirely new body of works made exclusively from reassembled and repurposed garments, textiles and personal objects that belonged to the significant women in the artist’s family.

On one hand resonating with a wider audience with its emphasis on the role of women and their legacies, Matrilineal’s geographical and temporal coordinates are specific to the 20th- 21st century Thailand, particularly between the reigns of King Rama VII (1926–1935) and King Rama IX (1946–2016), when the artist’s family history intersects with that of the nation. This was an era of historical complexity, spanning the shift from absolute to constitutional monarchy, World War II, and the successions of several reigns amid student-led protests – a period recorded primarily by its male protagonists into the grand narrative of Thai modern history as we experience it today. In the background were the women—mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives, daughters, aunties—weaving the threads of their own family history in the spirit of resilience and female solidarity. 

Unearthing their memories and, thus, remembering their lives as women and makers of home and family, Matrilineal pays tribute to the essence of womanhood by way of chronicling history’s minor narrative within Thai patriarchal society. From large textile installations, embroidered intimate portraits, to reinvented vintage garments through beading and stitching, these works feature Siributr’s mother and her sisters, and his grandmother in retrospection, reflecting on their personal journeys and legacies. Archival objects and paintings of the artist’s family are featured with the new embroideries, culminating in the presentation of specifically designed floral arrangement to underline notions of ephemerality and longing, sentiments that connect us as human beings in the circle of life. 

 

PUBLIC PROGRAMS:

In further exploring the restorative power of art-making, which is distinctive in Siributr’s practice, Matrilineal proposes a series of workshops and talks across its six-month duration including specifically designed embroidery, Ikebana, and Kintsugi workshops. The first, “Memento Mori,” an embroidery workshop, will take place at 100 Tonson Foundation on December 16, 2023. Conducted by the artist, this workshop invites participants to approach loss and bereavement through communal sharing, embroidering and sewing on garments that belonged to their loved ones, to create a memento mori keepsake as a reminder of mortality while reinforcing the healing power of remembering.

In addition to the workshops, the exhibition will include a conversation with Professor John Clark and the launch of the publication Jakkai Siributr: Matrilineal, which features specially commissioned articles by John Clark and Chairat Polmuk, a curatorial essay by Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani, along with interviews and other literature from archives. Richly illustrated, the publication anchors reflections on Siributr’s practice and situates the exhibition socially and historically, underlining the relevance of gender narratives and the driving power of making art.