Red Earth and Green Papaya by Nino Sarabutra explores the various local contexts of the Isan region (north eastern region of Thailand) through her journey and the numerous photos she has captured along the way. As a native of the Isan area, Nino had to return home more often during the COVID-19 outbreak to care for her mother. These reasons, combined with her passion for ceramics as a “ceramic artist”, have inspired this series of art that incorporates elements of clay and firing that have always been part of her.
 
Red Earth, in the sense of “the red soil”, refers to the core of the Isan people’s way of life in a particular context through objects such as pottery and containers like mortars, which play a significant role in creating one of the world-famous dishes called ‘Somtum’ whose main ingredient is raw papaya or “Green Papaya”. Both mortars and papaya have their origins in the “soil”, and the products from the soil have led to a strong, “local” subculture that has spread powerfully to the international community.
 
The power of “Somtum” culture and its traditional equipment, the “mortar”, are integral parts of Thai people’s lives. This cultural practice conveys a message of ancient beliefs rooted in the Thai ancestors. Yet, it remains “contemporary” with its wide range of flavors, which can be as authentic or creative as one desires. The broad spectrum of “flavors” that Somtum offers reflects the idea of “nation” that has acted as a vehicle for the dish to transcend its origins and become an “international” food. As a result, Somtum has become a trademark of the Thai and Isan people, encompassing not only the dish itself but also the clay mortars and wooden pestles used to prepare it.
 
Nino recognizes the power of this gastronomy culture as a unique art form. The cook’s identity is evident through their unique tastes that can never be replicated. Therefore, the reproduction of Somtum is not from the machines but rather a fusion of unstable ingredients and precise timing of cooking to control the flavors. Even if cooked by the same person, the taste can be different. Such an observation leads to the interpretation of “dynamism” and the meaning of constant flow, which takes us to the heart of this exhibition.
 
This exhibition utilizes “mortar” as a significant symbol to create dynamism and fluidity in terms of context. The process begins with the joint creation of over 300 brand-new mortars that the artist crafted together with skilled potters from the “Tai Yor” community in Tha Uthen District, Nakhon Phanom. Each of these mortars has a remarkable identity and serves as an art form, with its usual round mouth altered into a square shape, adding versatile functions for diverse types of installation. The mortar displayed in the exhibition has a circular hole at the bottom meant to hold a UV-print acrylic slab, which contains a photograph taken by Nino during her travels to various places in the Isan region. Some of the places featured in the photographs include the Tai-Lao Market, Tha Uthen, Phra That Phanom, Phra That Renu Nakhon, Phra That Marukkha Nakhon, Wat Mahathat in Nakhon Phanom, Pha Taem, Sam Phan Bok, Kao Phan Bok in Ubon Ratchathani, Khemarat Old Town, wildflower fields, Soi Sawan Waterfall, and ‘Lai Reua Fai’ (Illuminated Boat Procession) in Nakhon Phanom.
 
All the mortars are placed on their side and stacked in layers inside a rectangular bamboo structure, tied up to resemble the “illuminated boat” that appeared in an important tradition of the people of Nakhon Phanom. Impressed by the beauty and splendor of the effort, the unity, belief, faith, and creativity that the local community put into such a creation, Nino has reproduced the structure of the boat before moving it into a different context to communicate something new. The resulting artwork invites viewers to look at photos of the Isan way of life and scenery, while the mortars in their new context act like a “viewfinder” that allows people to look through an acrylic lens and explore another layer of Nino’s perspective.
 
The design of mortars and pestles is simplified to create a monoprint on fabric sewn onto a tote bag of varying sizes. The bags are then installed beautifully on the wall. The idea that tote bags are portable and can be moved around easily creates a flow for the mortar to actually transform itself into a representation that brings a new aesthetic. The simple hand printing system results in the bags that are caught between being a high-class art piece expressing sacred originality and a mass-produced product with general functions in daily life. Although the bags may appear to be machine-made reproductions, each piece still retains its unique individual identity. Upon closer examination, the differences between each artwork become apparent. This comparison can be similar to the distinct flavors of Somtum, a dish whose identity is defined by outstanding cooking styles and personal touches.
 
After printing on the fabric, the acrylic plates were also rearranged to express themselves beautifully. Although these acrylic slabs were originally used to make tote bags, their value is still considered invalid since they only serve as a surface to transfer the aesthetics through crushed paint and compression onto the cloth. However, Nino sees the beauty in the process and appreciates the plate’s qualities as a real material, creating another type of beauty that stands on its own.
 
In the final context, the mortars have portrayed themselves as large-scale paintings. The set of colors used in these paintings seem to have been extracted from the dry Isan soil, giving off a representative aura of local culture that has been transformed into a semi-abstract style of Formalism. This is different from the printmaking technique of simulating a myth that travels toward a utopia. Hence, Red Earth and Green Papaya is similar to a simulation of Nino’s utopia through the use of various properties and identities of the objects as well as the creation process and results. The series is an expansion of a basic structure into other artistic landscapes and, as an artist who values materialism that is closely tied to spirituality, this series of works has journeyed with her to a convergent point where one can look back at one’s roots and look ahead with the idea of the application of ancestral wisdom to help reach the ideal happiness in a world that is in turmoil.
 
Text by Wutigorn Kongka