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Exhibition organiser Steffen Ruholl poses with a boy from the deep South whose painting is on display.
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BLOOD on CANVAS
Students in the strife-torn deep South spill out in pictures the horrors that have become the fare of daily life there
Published on April 5, 2008
The paintings are disturbing. These are images seen through the eyes of young students from the three southernmost provinces, where almost 3,000 have been killed over the past four years in a conflict that continues to haunt the hearts and minds of people of all ages. The paintings of a blood-soaked, decapitated young woman, a school burning and military roadblocks are now on display at the office of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation on the 35th floor of the SM Tower in Bangkok's Sanam Pao area. There are 1,000 paintings collected under the project, "The Reflection of My Mind, Colour for Peace", organised by a German researcher, Steffen Ruholl, at the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani. The exhibition will run until April 11.
Disturbing images "Some of the pictures show the image of insurgents holding the head of a villager, while others show the violence they witness every day, but people are still living together," Ruholl said. Ruholl said the violence had taken its toll on people of all age groups, especially children, who are afraid to talk about their true feelings among themselves. Ruholl asked the students one question: what do you think about life in Southern Thailand? He then asked them to put their ideas on paper. He says the project is aimed to help children come to terms with their fears and anxiety and to show the public the need to understand their feelings. He spent one year collecting pictures from students from primary school to university level.
From an innocent Alif Umar, 18, who painted a woman praying for peace, says people who live in the provinces need the understanding of those outside the region. The best way to give them the real situation is through paintings, he added. When he was child he used to paint peaceful scenes in Pattani, where he lives, but during the past five years, the daily violence is pretty much all he can think of, said Alif. "Understanding from you makes us feel better," he says.
By Pongphon Sarnsamak Daily Xpress
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