Amidst the mire of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trauma and Care breaks the seclusion of quarantine through a group presentation featuring 9 Thai artists that BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY has engaged with extensively. As a physical exhibition that simultaneously manifests online in the form of the gallery’s first Online Viewing Room presentation (bangkokcitycity.com/viewing-room/trauma-and-care), both the exhibition’s format and title are reflective of the current global circumstances and urgencies. 

Trauma and Care showcases a selection of artworks created within the past two years. The recency of the works’ creation reaffirming their relationship to the zeitgeist of the period. As protests precipitated by the lagging COVID-19 response continue to occupy the streets and remain a mainstay in media reporting, the associated trauma is experienced repeatedly both first-hand and vicariously by artist and layperson alike. Consequently, the range of materials and imageries employed in the creation of these artworks reflect the urban atmosphere, giving further emphasis to the relationships existing between them, the city, and its inhabitants. 

An exhibitionary response to this scenario is emblematic of the potential for art as an avenue for catharsis and expressions of solidarity and concern. It emerges as a means of igniting conversations that speculate the way forward. Displaying these artworks in close proximity to each other within the gallery space, their placements catalyse dialogues between different artistic practices as well. In spanning a breadth of artistic responses – from nihilism to optimism, satire to serenity – the relevance of these artworks exceeds national boundaries, touching on the fundamental human need to process injury and begin the healing process.