18/28: The Singhaseni Tapestries

Jakkai Siributr’s fascination with textiles and embroidery began as a child in Bangkok, and led to studies in textile design in the United States before he returned to Thailand.

His work in APT9, ‘18/28: The Singhaseni Tapestries’ explores the connections between the artist’s family and Thailand’s political history. At the heart of the project is a homage to Siributr’s mother, whose five dresses are embroidered with scenes from news and family photographs. These scenes connect with passages from her diaries that can be heard as a recording in the centre of the installation of suspended tapestries – works that are made from hand-stitched fabrics acquired from seven aunts on the artist’s maternal side. Siributr’s mother was from the ancient Thai house of Singhaseni and 18/28 is the address of the compound where Siributr’s great grandmother took in the wife and seven daughters of Chit Singhaseni, a royal page executed over the mysterious death in 1946 of the Thai monarch King Rama VIII.

Siributr’s art advocates for recognising the complexities underlying official narratives, as well as the personal lives involved in these accounts that often go unacknowledged.

Exhibited in 'The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT9) | 24 Nov 2018 – 28 Apr 2019