A woman gazes aimlessly into the corner of her still room as a fire rages outside her window. A priest reads from the good book at a woman shrouded in a hood, together they stand in murky marshland surrounded by dead trees. A girl lays on the floor as men loom over her, their reflections stretching to menacing heights. These are the paintings of Thai fine artist Phatnaree Boonmee, who uses aquatic greens and fiery oranges to explore family and societal issues.

Boonmee, who started painting in this style about a year ago, uses boldly contrasting colors to create a heightened tension and striking contrast, clearly separating vulnerable figures from the people and circumstances that confront them. The bloody orange colors vibrate and float among the sinking teal greens, darkly hinting at hidden strife.

Verbal abuse is a common theme across Boonmee’s work. Unheard insults and accusations are levied with heavy weight against their victims, leaving them prostrate and isolated, their figures glowing with a searing pain. Harsh shadows are cast by cold light upon them while their aggressors remain hazy and uncertain despite their palpable menace.

Boonmee draws on personal experience and the stories of others close to her. Her work brims with frustration that the world moves along like nothing has happened, ignoring these injustices. Her subjects find no solace in home; instead home is a place of entrapment. Spirituality doesn’t lead to salvation; rather it’s used for subjugation, to prey on the unstable. School grounds and the workplace make for treacherous terrain. Her work questions the definition of right and wrong; normality and exceptional circumstances; safe places and sources of harm. It highlights the experiences of those who have been failed by the people and organizations responsible for providing stability and warmth, asking the viewer to question whether more needs to be done. The answer is clearly yes.