For the State SecurityVasan Sitthiket · 1996

Identification of the Artwork and Artist

The painting titled For the State Security was created by the artist Vasan Sitthiket. This work was produced in 1996 and belongs to the series known as Blue October. The piece is currently held at the ILHAM Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.

Vasan Sitthiket is a multidisciplinary artist from Thailand. His practice involves various media, including painting, poetry, performance, and theater. He was born in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, and is based in Bangkok. His body of work often addresses themes of political critique, social justice, and the human condition within shifting political landscapes.

The artist has produced several other works during this period, including:

• For the Nation, 1996
• Ever Free as a Bird in the Sky, 1996

Visual Composition and Subject Matter

The composition features four individuals positioned horizontally across the canvas. These figures lie on their backs in a uniform posture, with each person oriented toward the same direction. The bodies appear naked, presented against a solid blue background that provides a consistent backdrop for the subjects. This blue field creates a sense of depth behind the figures, isolating them within the pictorial space.

A specific detail is attached to each of the four people: a yellow tag. These tags are positioned on the bodies of the individuals, creating a repetitive visual element across the group. The arrangement of the figures is orderly, with the first person on the left, a second person in the middle, a third person toward the right, and a fourth person at the far right end of the sequence.

Related Works by Vasan Sitthiket

Several other paintings from 1996 share a connection to this work through their inclusion in the Blue October series. This series is based on the 1976 Thammasat University massacre, an event involving state forces and paramilitary groups attacking student protesters on campus in Thailand. The works within this series often utilize a blue background and focus on figures in states of rest or death.

Ever Free as a Bird in the Sky is another piece from this 1996 series. It features figures against a blue background and utilizes a dynamic composition of the human form. The application of pigment in this work is fluid, allowing the subjects to appear as if they are merging into the surrounding blue space.

The work For the Nation also belongs to the Blue October series and was created in 1996. This painting is composed in a monochromatic black and white palette. It depicts two men in a shadowed room, with one man holding a soccer ball against the face of the other. The composition includes a clock in the background and utilizes layers of acrylic, blue powder, and gold leaf on the canvas.