When the father of artist Atipat Pooksrisuk became ill, she began spending more time with her family. While having conversations with her father who had been a soldier, she wondered why he had such a patriarchal mindset.
"I wanted to feel less angry with him, so I tried to understand him more. That's what sparked my interest in exploring my family's history," said Atipat.
Unfortunately, her father passed away and while going through his belongings from his time as an instructor at the Command and General Staff College, Atipat discovered a collection of books and photographs.
What she found inspired her to create a funeral memorial book titled Whisper Game. The title is inspired by a game where children whisper a message from one person to another and by the end, the final message is often different.
Since her father was proud of his family, Whisper Game includes photos of him and his nine siblings. Atipat also interviewed her aunts and uncles to learn about their lives during the Cold War and their perspectives on her grandfather.
"I discovered vintage IDs of my father's siblings in a box, so I asked relatives about them. They were poor, so it was unusual for them to have photo IDs," she said.
"They told me that in 1968, my grandfather became a volunteer soldier in Kong Phol Suea Dam, better known as the Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force, to support the US Army in the Vietnam War.
"Before my grandfather, who had been an orchard farmer, went to war, every family member was required to get photographed and registered, so the army would know the soldier's family."
In addition to the vintage photo IDs, Atipat found photos taken by her grandfather while he was at a military camp in Vietnam. Those photos were what inspired her to create paintings for the exhibition "Traces Of Light In An Old Album", which is part of the project MMADness Is Calling, at MMAD Gallery, Seacon Square Srinagarindra.
Five years after returning from the Vietnam War, her grandfather died in an accident. Since her relatives did not know much about his time in Vietnam, Atipat reinterpreted her grandfather's photographs from her own perspective.
"I reinterpreted my grandpa's perspectives from my present viewpoint and used light as a medium. For me, memories are like light. When light shines on an object, it looks different from every angle. Even at the exact same spot and the same time, viewing it on a different day makes it look different," explained Atipat.
On a wall, there are paintings inspired by the landscape collection of her grandfather. She either added or removed some elements from the original photographs, most of which show a desolate Bearcat Military Camp.
"These landscape paintings are conveyed from my perspective. Some original photos are really scary, because you can see a pile of corpses next to the soldiers. In my paintings, I decided to omit those corpses," Atipat said.
She could relate to the photo taken at a New Year party the most. Her painting, Sawatdee Pi Mai, depicts a stage with a microphone, a drum set and a sheet music stand.
A banner in the background displays the words "Happy New Year" and "Sawatdee Pi Mai", yet there are no people in the painting.
"Since my grandfather was a volunteer soldier, I considered him as a labourer. I was a labourer myself when I worked at a shopping mall and had to work during the New Year holidays. It was sad. I removed people from the party scene because my painting symbolises a party of the past, which depicts a conflict of a celebration and a sense of loss," Atipat said.
The painting Anatomy portrays her grandfather shirtless, with muscular arms and wearing a pair of jeans. Atipat wanted to focus on the muscular image of her grandfather because she questioned whether he would have had this kind of physique if he were a local farmer helping her grandmother raise their 10 children.
"Because of politics, Thai volunteer soldiers received a lot of support from the US, including training, food and clothes which may be the reason for his physique," she said.
Among the collection of photos featuring only men, Atipat discovered a solo photograph of the only woman -- her unsmiling grandmother, standing in front of the temple.
"Khun Ya [Grandmother] is the only painting in which I did not remove or add any elements from the original photo. The image of grandma reflected the ideal Thai woman as seen through the eyes of her husband and children. I wanted to create this painting because while the exhibition tells a story of a time and place dominated by men, there was a woman who worked hard to raise 10 children, but she has no place in recorded history."
On another wall, there are two large landscape paintings Dun Meh 1 (Soaring Through The Cloud 1) in black and white and Dun Meh 2 (Soaring Through The Cloud 2) in colour. Atipat explained that both original photos feature a helicopter.
"I believe that these photos were taken in a nearby spot because there might not have been that many helipads. Dun Meh 1 resembles a big explosion rather than a sky. I painted Dun Meh 2 in colour to represent the hope of going home. There are no helicopters in the paintings, but the concept is that it is possible to transport someone away from there."
Besides paintings, a video archived by the Thai Film Archive shows that soldiers held a candlelight procession during Visakha Bucha Day inside the military camp. Atipat included the video to highlight the contradiction -- volunteer soldiers had taken lives, but still made merit.
Atipat revealed that after spending a lot of time with her family history, she understood why her father had a patriarchal mindset.
"History indicates that during the time of the Cold War, the world was still male-dominated.
"Therefore, men were consistently elevated in status, both historically and within the family. Because they held historical and political power, that power extended into homes which gave them the authority to command everything in the household."
Her grandfather's decision to become a volunteer soldier marked a significant leap in social class by transitioning from a farmer to a military officer. This paved the way for her father to study at the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy and use his salary to support his brother's education.
Atipat said she received touching feedback on the exhibition from her relatives.
"One of my uncles, a quiet military officer, spent a lot of time viewing the paintings before complimenting my work. An aunt was moved to tears after seeing the portrait of her mother. I believe my aunt was moved because the painting not only tells history, but also tells her personal story. She must have felt like she was also represented in the portrait."
"Traces Of Light In An Old Album" runs at MMAD Gallery 5, Seacon Square Srinagarindra until Aug 23. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/MunMunArtDestination.
