It's unusual for New Zealand critics to give any artist a public roasting. So last summer, when commentator Daniel Michael Satele severely criticised Tessa Laird and Tiffany Singh on prominent art site EyeContact for cultural arrogance regarding their 2010 work Wihaan, it caused a minor sensation. Neither artist responded, until
Janet McAllister: Thai spirit house sparks spirited debate
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Wihaan by Tiffany Singh. Photo / Tiffany Singh
Satele says the artists have talked about Wihaan as if it were pan-Asian rather than specifically Thai. Satele's criticism was sharpened by the false impression left by Wihaan's publicity that spirit houses are specifically Buddhist.
Phra Joe Apagaro, of the Watyarnprateep Buddhist Monastery, which advised on the artwork, told me that spirit houses are not Buddhist, and that he saw Wihaan as a cultural rather than religious artefact.
Singh, a practising Buddhist, has a different understanding from Phra Joe (and Laird): she says spirit houses are not only Buddhist. But, counter to Satele's speculations, Singh genuinely relates to Wihaan as a spiritual object.
Spirit houses (in different designs) are found across South and Southeast Asia so, arguably, Wihaan is culturally inclusive. But the artists do not often explain this. Satele is right that, despite their aims, the artists don't always explain what spirit houses are.
Singh doesn't know whether Wihaan's carved patterns have any particular significance and she told me the work was "made by the Buddhist monks in Kelston". In fact, non-monk Thawee Khampantip built Wihaan and, says Laird, he received the entire artist's fee.
Wihaan raises an excellent point: Auckland's public art needs to be more culturally diverse. But, even if Wihaan helped to meet a spiritual need, some of Satele's criticisms also stick, about the artists' carelessness when discussing Wihaan's cultural meanings. I would love to see these parties debate. The moot: that Orientalism is no longer valid.