The fourth Thailand Biennale, titled 'Eternal [Kalpa]', has launched across 19 venues in Phuket, aiming to challenge the island's reputation as a mere tropical leisure destination. Curated by a team including Hera Chan, the exhibition utilizes diverse locations—from municipal gymnasiums to mangrove forests—to explore themes of subjective time and local history. Despite logistical delays that saw some artists still installing works during the press preview, the biennial presents a series of site-specific commissions that engage with Phuket’s ecological and social complexities.
This edition is significant for its attempt to 'decentralize' the Thai art scene and address the island's traumatic history, notably the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. By featuring works like Ryuichi Sakamoto and Shiro Takatani’s salvaged piano installation and collaborative projects with the Urak Lawoi sea-nomad community, the biennial moves beyond 'mundane spectacles' to confront land-rights conflicts and environmental preservation. It represents a major institutional effort by the Thai government to foster deep cultural inquiry in a region dominated by global tourism.