Exhibition explores coastal changes

The impact of capitalist intervention on a local fishing community in the Deep South is reflected through mixed media artworks during “From Nomad To Nowhere”, running at Warin Lab Contemporary, until Nov 30.
This is a solo exhibition by Prach Pimarnman, a resident of Narathiwat, one of the southernmost provinces of Thailand, which explores the ongoing tribulations that impair the balance of local fishermen’s existence.
For generations, fishermen have had a harmonious connection with their surroundings. Historically, the sea people were nomadic, navigating coastal deltas and islands. Eventually, some settled in a location where the Bang Nara River meets the Gulf of Thailand when it was vacant and undeveloped.
Until recently, the land they reside in has been under the Marine Department’s jurisdiction, rendering their presence debatable, or owned by local magnates who expanded their holdings by reclaiming more land.
The coastal landscape has also undergone radical changes, with natural landmarks flattened for roads and construction, sand dunes dredged and erosion barriers fortified. Selective reclamation projects have further transformed the coastline and rivers, undermining the richness of the land and the bond between the people and their environment.
The artist captures the tension between the vanishing natural landscape and the vulnerable yet resilient community whose livelihood depends on nature.
Through the use of various materials belonging to the locality such as pounded bricks, seashells, charcoal and discarded fishing nets, he metaphors the memories of the location and mirrors the community’s struggle to preserve their way of life, pressured by ever-increasing capitalism.
Warin Lab Contemporary is located at OP Garden, Charoen Krung 36, and opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10.30am to 7.30pm.
Visit warinlab.com.