The Country I Missed, 2012

In The Country I Missed, I reflect on the political and social conflict in my homeland, Thailand.

Working with members of the public at the Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, I invited volunteers to paint traditional ceramic soup spoons. Each spoon featured a cobalt-blue face, with the word ‘red’ or ‘yellow’ hidden underneath.

The spoons represent lives lost during Thailand’s 2010 political conflict between the Red Shirt and Yellow Shirt movements.

Visitors and volunteers also created plasticine lotus flowers for the installation. Drawing on the lotus as a Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment, I used this collective ritual to reflect on healing, loss and the possibility of reconciliation.