LONDON.- Flowers Gallery is presenting the work of Jakkai Siributr (b.1969), one of Southeast Asia's leading contemporary artists, working primarily in textile. Based in Bangkok, Siributr is known for his intricately handmade tapestries, quilts, and installations, which convey powerful responses to contemporary and historical societal issues in Southeast Asia, migration, and personal stories of grief and remembrance.

On display within this exhibition are multiple series spanning from 2016 to 2023, addressing themes of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic and ethnic minorities and exploring the experiences of displaced refugees. Siributr’s practice highlights overlooked and neglected stories and experiences of groups that have been largely ignored. Siributr's exhibition at Flowers Gallery coincides with his first institutional UK exhibition, There’s no Place, taking place at The Whitworth.

Through IDP Story Cloth (2016), a sensory and immersive tapestry installation, Siributr pays homage to ethnic minority groups in Myanmar who migrate to Thailand to flee the conflict in their homeland. The work is inspired by the story cloth embroidery of the Hmong Laos people, who emigrated to the United States in the 1970s. Drawing from traditional Hmong story cloths, the panels are adorned with colourful embellishments, reminiscent of child-like drawings. The playful iconography and technique are highly contrasted against the harsh reality facing the Hmong migrants.

The 2021 tapestries Black Death, White Plague, and Yellow Fever reflect on racism and violence against minorities and right-wing politics perpetuated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by quilt making, the textiles are made from a combination of the artist’s clothes and his late mother’s, meditating on their conversations surrounding discrimination prevalent in world events.

MM20 and HC20 (both 2023) are part of Siributr’s Outworn series, which includes large-scale and free-hanging tapestries. Works in the series are made with uniforms from the tourism profession, rendered obsolete during the pandemic, that were collected through monetary exchange as a way to assist those financially impacted at the time. The uniforms were disassembled and remade into tapestries, bedecked with Buddhist symbols, beads, artificial Marigold flowers and other found and talismanic objects.These adornments reflect Siributr’s consistent examination of the interaction between Buddhism and materialism in modern life.

The first UK exhibition of his work, There’s no Place, at The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (November 2024 - March 2025), surveys his practice and features the latest iteration of his long-term project, There’s no Place. Exploring ideas of home and belonging, this collaborative embroidery piece creates an ongoing dialogue between the artist, the community of Koung Jor Shan Refugee Camp, and viewers around the world and was featured in The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, presented by the Bangkok Art Biennale as an Official Collateral Event at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Recent projects also include Matrilineal, a solo exhibition at 100 Tonson Foundation, Bangkok (2023-2024) and participation in the 15th Gwangju Biennale (2024) in the Thailand Pavilion.

Jakkai Siributr (b. 1969) lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand, and is one of Southeast Asia's leading contemporary artists working primarily in the textile medium. He is known for his intricately handmade tapestries, quilts and installations, which convey powerful responses to contemporary and historical societal issues in Thailand. Jakkai Siributr studied Textile and Fine Arts at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA; and Printed Textile Design, at Philadelphia University, USA. He has exhibited widely, with notable exhibitions including Exploring the Cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore (2013); Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, California, USA; Link Tradition and Future, (2012); and the 2nd Chongqing Biennale for Young Artists, The Art Museum of Sichuan Fine Art Institute, Chongqing, China (2011). His works are in the public collections of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, USA; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, USA; Vehbi Koc Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey; and the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.