Maitree Siriboon was born in Ubon Ratchathani (in the north-eastern region of Thailand) in 1983. When he was fifteen, he relocated to Bangkok where he completed his studies and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Silpakorn University. Siriboon’s childhood and the rural landscape of the Isan region transpire throughout his work, in which he weds photography with collage and performance art. He has been the recipient of several acknowledgements, including the Bangkok Bank Art Award in 2006 and the painting award “Sixty Years of Happiness Under His Most Benevolent and Majestic Rule” in 2005. He participated in important international group shows, including the 3rd Biennial Exhibition of the World Images at the Museum Du Quai Branly, Paris (2011), and the 4th Guangzhou Triennial Inauguration Exhibition at the Guangdong Museum of Art (2011).

– title: Albino and Green

– date: 2009

– medium: a series of 8 light boxes

– description: Maitree Siriboon donated one of the light boxes from the Albino and Green cycle concomitantly with the Il dio delle piccolo cose exhibition, curated by Pier Luigi Tazzi (2009). In this work, the figure of human body develops in a sensual, almost mystical way: an idyllic, bucolic landscape is the backdrop for the encounter of the artist with the water buffalo; the naked man is portrayed on the back of the animal amidst an immense green stretch of rice fields. Much of the artist’s childhood landscape is incorporated in this work: on one side, the bright texture of rice paddies (Green); on the other, a rare specimen of a water buffalo (Albino). The water buffalo is placed by the artist as a sign of good luck, thanks to its features of relaxation and slowness; the same way mystical white elephants are viewed traditionally in his culture. Siriboon’s artistic exploration fosters a return to nature, in contrast with the phenomenon of the new generation abandoning the countryside and rural life in favour of the city.