The Stolen Breath
The Stolen Breath
2025 / Chiang Mai, Thailand
Medium : Performance / PM 2.5 from Lab, dust from vehicle, rice straw dust, oil candle dust, incense dust, charcoal dust , traditional calico, handmade cloth
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Medium : Performance / PM 2.5 from Lab, dust from vehicle, rice straw dust, oil candle dust, incense dust, charcoal dust , traditional calico, handmade cloth
When the air we breathe becomes something else, the breath
that once felt steady begins to fade. Our breathing no longer
belongs to us alone, as what fills the sky knows no borders.
Performance at Studio 88 Artist residency, Chiang Mai, Thailand -2025
The Fading Breath of Fogotten Words
The Fading Breath of Fogotten Words
2025 / Dogma Prize, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Handmade calico, bamboo flowers, Thai Yuan traditional skirt, cotton sewing thread
The villages in the mountainous province of Sainyabuli where Willie Xaiwouth grew up are enveloped by bamboo, so much so that the grass has become part of local cultural identity, one that informs Willie's thinking. Willie collects dried bamboo flowers from groves that have withered after blooming.He carefully hand-stitches a letter, its content mysterious, each character formed from dried blossoms and embroidered onto handwoven cotton: The letter is written in Tai Tham, an ancient script now. nearly extinct, once used by the Tai Yuan people, to whom the artist belongs.
Through bamboo, Willie pursues this fragile cultural legacy. Through his devoted practice, Willie meditates on the fate of his own people. His work is a polyphonic expression that opens up new ways of seeing and understanding, resonating with other cultures now trembling before the sweeping changes of our age.
Installation view, Dogma Prize exhibition, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam - 2025
Lacacy in Motion | ຄວາມຊົງຈຳຍັງຄົງເຄື່ອນເໜັງ
Lacacy in Motion | ຄວາມຊົງຈຳຍັງຄົງເຄື່ອນເໜັງ
2025 / Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
Installation / bamboo, mulberry paper, light bulb, cotton wire, motor, gear, steel wire, etc
Installation view at Fukuoka Artist Cafe, Fukuoka, Laos - 2025
Willie Xaiwouth made a new artwork based on his research on bamboo, widely utilized in Laos and Japan as a material for everyday items, including but not limited to housing fences, fishing rods, and baskets. In recent years, bamboo has become less in use, and is being replaced by plastic. Moreover, bamboo forests are also gradually disappearing in Laos.
Legacy in Motion extends from the floor and stretches across the venue as a large installation made of six combined lanterns, each sized one meter in height and 35 cm in diameter, crafted from bamboo harvested in Fukuoka.
These lanterns were inspired by the traditional bamboo lanterns made for the Buddhist Lent in Luang Prabang in northern Laos and Yame. Such traditional lanterns have dual structures, with their internal part adorned by paper-cut art that illustrates Buddhist narratives and folktales, spinning as they are lit up by the heat of a candle placed at the center. On the other hand, in this work, the lanterns spin in different directions by electric motors, with the candle lights bulb revealing words and images that represent bamboo in Laos and Japan, bamboo tools that have long been used in each country, and stories of bamboo gathered from books or people of different locations across Fukuoka.
Fantastical images that emerge in this work, together with the subtle creaking sounds and scent of bamboo, invite viewers to reconsider the distinctive charms of bamboo. They offer us an opportunity to reflect on the traditions inherited in our way of living through generations and the changes brought about by shifting times.
Light of Hope(less) | ແສງແຫ່ງຄວາມສິ້ນຫວັງ
Light of Hope(less) | ແສງແຫ່ງຄວາມສິ້ນຫວັງ
2025
2D Animation / 2:00 minutes
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cmfSa0NiMpwzmMYspPznksshQpF9lQd1
This animation tells the quiet tragedy of fireflies and night insects, drawn to light they mistake for safety and hope. In a world where artificial lights outshine the moon, that hope becomes a silent trap. Their circling mirrors rural people pulled into cities, chasing a brighter future. But amid the glow and noise, roots and identity fade. What once was light of hope becomes the quiet force that takes everything and leaving only silence.
Simulation of reality | ພາບຈຳລອງຂອງຄວາມເປັນຈີງ
Simulation of reality | ພາບຈຳລອງຂອງຄວາມເປັນຈີງ
2025 / Vientiane, Laos
Oil painting
Installation view, Coexistence exhibition, icat gallery, Laos - 2025
The artist portrays the state of interdependence between humans and nature through a depiction of an intricately connected ecosystem, revealing the spiritual relationship that exists between humanity and the natural world. Humans are not seen as conquerors but as an integral part of the vast ecosystem, sustained by balance and mutual coexistence. However, the power and influence humans wield over nature often disrupt this delicate equilibrium in various dimensions, underscoring a shared responsibility to preserve the harmony between life and the surrounding environment.
Once u-pond a time | ກາລະຄັ້ງໜຶ່ງໃນໜອງນ້ຳ
Once u-pond a time | ກາລະຄັ້ງໜຶ່ງໃນໜອງນ້ຳ
2024 / Vientiane, Laos
Photos installation
Installation view, Laos contemporary art exhibition - 2024
Once, not long ago, there was a person who lived among many others but was different. He didn't follow society's rules or standards. His beliefs, actions, and appearance were all unique, and he always lived in his own way.
One day, he felt cold and soaked, like he was floating in a swamp. Then, he imagined he was in a clear, peaceful swamp in the middle of a forest, filled with happiness and comfort.
But at the same time, it felt like he was sinking into a dirty swamp, surrounded by people who no longer noticed him. These people would dump or throw their problems into the swamp until they couldn't handle it anymore and started to sink. In the end, whether he happily floats and plays or sinks into despair, only he can decide his fate.
Authority of root | ອານຸພາບແຫ່ງຄວາມມຸ່ງຫວັງ
Authority of root | ອານຸພາບແຫ່ງຄວາມມຸ່ງຫວັງ
2024 / Vientiane, Laos
Installation (Paster cement, steel wire, acrylic colors, cement dust)
Installation view, Lao Art week - 2024Photo credit number 1 and 3 : Lao Art week
Being a new generation is not easy at all. They face various challenges, both physical and mental, influenced by the society around them. Many times, they have to fight, strive, be patient and hopeful in order to prove themselves for their own dreams or for someone else's aspirations.
This is particularly true for young artists, who not only need to be persistent in discovering their identity and developing their skills and potential, but also have to confront feelings, thoughts and emptiness deep inside their minds. In addition, they have to deal with criticism and various treatments from people in society. It seems that before these future shoots grow, they will have to devote all their energy the power of hope, hope that they will be able to break through obstacles and grow gracefully in the future.
Our mother homeland | ບ້ານແມ່ເຮົາ
Our mother homeland | ບ້ານແມ່ເຮົາ
2024 / Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand
Photos installation (Photos on mulberry paper, Root of tree, Blessing bracelet)
The purpose of this work is to demonstrate and raise awareness of the impacts of deforestation resulting from human activities, which are caused by many factors. In this article will focus on the issue of forest clearing and burning for agriculture, which is a major regional problem. Shifting cultivation and forest pioneering for agriculture are considered part of the way of life that people have practiced for a long time, especially in Southeast Asia. Starting from farming to make a living in the past, until the era of having to live in a modern economic system, when forest clearing and encroachment are continued and increasingly expanded with no sign of ending, it has both direct and indirect impacts on the environment, lifestyles, beliefs and practices of people in the surrounding areas.
Each time the artist returns to his hometown in northern Laos, he is met with vast landscapes—layers of overlapping mountains stretching far into the distance, yet stripped of trees. While such a scene might seem normal to others, it raises unsettling questions for the artist: How long can this continue? And how severe will the consequences be?
In response, the artist channels these concerns through photography and installation. He overlays images of the few remaining patches of green forest with wide expanses of barren land, inviting viewers to quietly observe and reflect on the environmental transformation taking place.
Installation view, "No River We cry" GMS Residency, Ubon Rachathani, Thailand -2024
Slowly dying
Slowly dying
2024
Oil on canvas
The fire of chaos has begun to injure and greatly influence the resources here, but in reality, this tree may be slowly dying or has already died.
Side by side | ເພິ່ງພາອາໄສ
Side by side | ເພິ່ງພາອາໄສ
2024 - Ongoing Project
Acrylic on canvas
To reflects the dependence and coexistence of insects and flowers, while also reflecting the perspective of space that affects the existence of various living things in each area that the artist visited, He was impressed by the beauty and value it had for the ecosystem. Focus on local insects and plants.
The artist enjoys traveling across Laos, from north to south and nearby areas and during each journey, he encounters flowers blooming in every season of the year. Alongside these flowers, he also observes various insects drawn to the nectar, playing a vital role in pollination. Inspired by this interdependence between species, he seeks to document these fleeting moments—capturing them as if they were events in time. By blending the forms of the insects and the flowers he encounters into a single entity, he portrays a connection so inseparable that one can no longer exist apart from the other.
Fade | ເລືອນຫາຍ
Fade | ເລືອນຫາຍ
2023 / Vientiane, Laos
Installation (Found objects : Fishing gears)
Installation view, "Value" The XYZ Contemporary Art Exhibition 2023, Laos
The evolution of the era and the environment have a significant impact on the livelihoods of communities, particularly in my hometown, where many young generation has been forced to turn their back on their birthplace, the variety of tasks that come to replace, the ever-changing environment, with these things the folkways of the communities that have been practiced and passed down for ages become traditions, customs, and symbols that we rely on nature are decreasingly shrinking, are being forgotten and faded away.
For this project, it was the first time the artist incorporated found objects into his artistic practice. Collected used and worn-out fishing tools from people he know in his hometown, Xienghone, Sainyabuli Province. By doing so, He hoped to allow the work to communicate its story in the most meaningful and authentic way to the audience.
Mother | ແມ່
Mother | ແມ່
2023
Oil painting
The Creator, Protector and Giver
The pha tad ke | ຜາຕັດແກ້
The pha tad ke | ຜາຕັດແກ້
2023
Oil painting
This refers to the angel who created and Protect the botanical, the tree and the Etlingera elatior flower, which is a symbol of abundance, biological diversity, and beauty. The ginger flower represents the herb. Herbs that are edible, therapeutic, and a sign of the fertility of the forest and The bamboo plants are incredibly vital to people's lives, especially those who live in the forest, bamboo is also food, a place to live, and and equipment for living.
Through | ຜ່ານ
Through | ຜ່ານ
2022 / Vientiane, Laos
Installation (steel wire, cotton wire, light, etc)
When time is just going on as it usual. it is bringing stories. incidents and many other situations change, circulate again and again. Even things have passed by and cause numerous profound feeling: deepen inside whether it is good, impressive, thrilled, brutal, sad, regret or disappointed but in the end of the story things come and go just that normally.
This was the artist first installation artwork—a personal experiment with something entirely new to artist. At the time, He was in his fourth year at the National Institute of Fine Arts in Laos, majoring in Painting. He wanted to challenge himself by taking a step further and exploring a medium that could express emotions and narratives more deeply than traditional painting. That’s why he chose installation art as the form of presentation for this piece.
Installation view, The XYZ Contemporary Art Exhibition 2022, Laos
The murderer | ຂ້າຕະກອນ
The murderer | ຂ້າຕະກອນ
2022
Oil Painting
Every human action has a deadly impact whether small or large, singular or widespread. From the past to the present, we have become increasingly aware of the negative consequences, which continue to grow, tightening the noose of hopelessness each day.
Installation view, The XYZ Contemporary Art Exhibition 2022, Laos
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