The Energy of a Movement in Mit Jai Inn’s “The King and I”

Mit’s work earnestly supporting calls for structural reform is emblematic of his own place within Thailand’s art landscape. As national scrutiny towards power imbalances intensifies, it is not difficult to draw unflattering parallels between the hegemony of old political elites and those in the art world. Yet, from his co-founding of the Chiang Mai Social Installation festival in the ’90s, to his gallery Cartel Artspace in Bangkok, he has long worked to bring attention to activity with radical potential. In his Psychedelic Screen series (2020), slashes of fluorescence emerge from the mottled base of metallic enamel. These flashes are discernible only when inspected closely in a number of the large paintings, while in others the vibrant strokes declare themselves insistently. For Mit, this colorful gesture is evocative of a 1970s “hippie” spirituality and political ethos. The reference, which calls to mind the summer of love and new age frivolity, may feel less pertinent than, say, the civil rights movement or Thailand’s own dynamic history of public uprising during the same era, however, hung in conversation with each other these variations chronicle the development of the burgeoning revolutionary energy that has erupted in the streets.

Art making has proved integral to this growing surge of student protest. Much of it has been irreverent and visceral, quickly produced and shared online or brandished above the crowds as banners. In a climate that has seen the disappearance of activists, some likely killed for incisive satirical work, Mit contributes to a necessary diversification of artistic strategies for championing progressive movements. Though his work is more applicable to the walls of the gallery than the streets, the small sculptures of his Neurons series (2020) succinctly capture the potentials of radical thought. Wrapped in canvas and anointed with the syrupy silver of aluminium enamel, twisted iron deviates from structured foundations and follows whimsical and unpredictable routes as it protrudes from the walls, invading the space of the gallery. The winding metallic paths echo the varied tangents of thought and action engendered by protest. Mit’s abstraction may differentiate his work from slogan-like pieces emblazoned across t-shirts, but his eagerness to explore the diversity of progressive thought is illuminating.