From the outset, Navin Rawanchaikul was no stranger to controversy as his first outdoor project The Journey proved. A part of the inaugural Chiang Mai Social Installation, which became one of Thailand’s most exciting annual art events of the mid-1990s, this site-specific artwork was situated around a pagoda in one of Chiang Mai’s most historic temples. Placing an old wooden boat in front of the pagoda, the artist coated the vessel in everyday throwaway objects that had been donated by the public. A metaphor for life’s journey, its everyday encounters, and the spiritualism needed to make it to the other side, Navin also coated the pagoda exterior with vernacular consumptive cast-offs. Despite approval from the resident clergy, temple worshippers thought the aesthetic approach to be disrespectful, and taking matters into their own hands they destroyed the installation after just a couple of days.

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