Transforme

Through the prism of his Buddhist, Thai and Asian origins, as well as his travels to countries such as Japan, Taiwan, the United States, Georgia and France, his diverse encounters and eclectic reading, Wattuya has accumulated a wealth of experience that is reflected in the syncretism present in his works, where animist, Buddhist and Christian iconography mingle with manga and video game characters. With this in mind, his approach remains resolutely contemporary, as he gives no particular preference to his sources of inspiration; they all emanate from his everyday life. For many years now, Tawan Wattuya has been questioning the essence of the human condition through his artistic creations, using anthropomorphism and anthropopathism. His thinking is not limited to humanity alone, but also explores the exchanges that take place between human beings and animals, including imaginary and legendary creatures, offering a study of the interactions between the human and the non-human. Considering philosopher Bruno Latour's criticisms on this subject, or analyzing Wattuya's works in the light of the four ontological criteria established by anthropologist Philippe Descola, would be a pertinent approach to better understanding how the artist represents this interaction in his artistic approach. In most of his watercolors, Wattuya chooses to depict a single figure, positioned in the center of the sheet, without any background. Although artist Sanam Khatibi explores a similar theme with monstrous creatures, his approach is distinguished by the predominant use of the background, which gives life to captivating landscapes, inviting our imagination to escape into singular atmospheres. Wattuya, for its part, opts for a diametrically opposed approach, highlighting the practice of Franz Kline, who believed that painting was not limited to the application of color, but also to the spaces left blank on the canvas. For Wattuya, this choice of white background enables him to decontextualize his figures, allowing the viewer to concentrate exclusively on the character depicted and the details that make him up. So, instead of being conditioned by the atmosphere of a background, the viewer can create it according to his or her own feelings and experience. At a time when modernity seems to aspire to moral, scientific and artistic progress, Wattuya exploits monstrous or terrifying creatures to evoke our impulses and instincts, revealing not some distant relic of the beast buried within us, but rather the very essence of human nature. This approach is neither pessimistic nor optimistic, but rather lucidly realistic, recognizing our capacity to manifest the best as well as the worst. Artists such as Luc Tuymans and Wilhelm Sasnal have chosen to depict tragic moments in world history through portraits or landscapes evoking Nazism or anti-colonial independence movements, with the aim of reminding us of this recent past that it is vital not to let sink into oblivion. In Wattuya's work, hybrid creatures - veritable chimeras of modern times - take on both allegorical and metaphorical dimensions. Although they may seem enigmatic to the viewer, their significance goes far beyond simple original symbolism. On the contrary, they reflect a contemporary context marked by increasing conflict and the rise of extreme ideas around the world. In adopting this approach, Wattuya abandons the artist's romantic vision to translate his everyday feelings, those he shares with each and every one of us, using his watercolors as a means of interacting with society. Sébastien Tayac Assistant Professor, Chiang Mai University (Thailand)