Artist Vipoo Srivilasa’s installation Shrine of Life/Benjapakee Shrine 2021 comprises five ceramic ‘deities’:

Love equality celebrates that same-sex marriage was ratified in Australia in 2017, allowing Srivilasa and his partner to wed, but has yet to be sanctioned in Thailand. The king penguins allude to celebrated gay penguin couple Skipper and Ping in Zoo Berlin, while the arms of the figures signify an incomplete heart and Thailand’s journey towards marriage equality.

Spirituality includes a number of symbols connected to Srivilasa’s Buddhist faith. The deity is supported by an owl-like creature that recalls Garuda, a legendary beast that protects the Buddha’s teachings, or dharma. The bird’s ‘pouch’ holds a deer – referencing the deer park at Isipatana where the Buddha first spoke to his followers – while the lotus throne denotes purity.

Security is a self-portrait. The eucalyptus leaves supporting the deity are emblematic of Srivilasa’s adopted home in Australia, and the cats at the figure’s feet are, in the artist’s words, ‘a symbol of settling down’. The keys, one to Srivilasa’s house and one to his studio, represent shelter, while the small deity atop the larger deity rides a peacock ‘to show how proud [Srivilasa is] to be an Australian’.

Identity reflects Srivilasa’s experiences of living between Thailand and Australia. ‘Nowadays,’ he says, ‘I find it hard to tell which culture is which’. He has embraced this exchange, epitomised here by each country’s national flower: on the right are blooms from the Golden Shower Tree native to Thailand; on the left is a sprig of wattle.

Creativity embodies the things that inspire Srivilasa. The deity sits on an ‘animal vehicle’ in the form of a magic cat, evoking the artist’s adored Burmese. Cats, he says, ‘solve problems intelligently’ and, with their fabled nine lives, remind artists to ‘reinvent themselves’. The flame and the clay in the deity’s hands are symbols of Srivilasa’s vocation as a ceramicist.