The
Serpentine Gallery recently is currently holding a 20% off sale for a
majority of their limited edition prints so I took the opportunity to
purchase a particular work that I had been contemplating purchasing for
quite a while. With 20% off I couldn’t hold out any longer and am now
the very happy owner of a limited edition print by Rikrit Tiravanija
titled “Untitled, Rainbow Speech”. What originally captured my
attention with this print was the rather unique and striking use of
colour and the rather intriguing image of a small lego man standing on
a radio who seems to be verbalising colour as indicated by the
multi-coloured speech bubble.

According to the Serpentine Gallery website “untitled (rainbow
speech) 2005 references the radio drama that was broadcast from the
Serpentine Gallery during Tiravanija’s exhibition. The speech bubble to
the left of the radio serves as an invitation to speak one’s mind and
activate the image. It also reflects the participatory quality of
Tiravanija’s nature, as well as his interest in the potential of
broadcast media as a tool for social and political change.”

To understand the work a bit more one needs to know a bit more about
Tiravanija’s history and background. Born in Buenes Aires in 1961,
Tiravanija was the son of a diplomat and as a result has lived in
several different countries including Canada, Ethiopia and Thailand. Is
it Thailand where Tiravanija spends most of his time and is the country
he most identifies with. Tirivanija’s rather eclectic cultural identity
is expressed in his work most of which looks at the social role of the
artist and encourages participation from visitors. Although he spends
most of his time between New York, Berlin and Bangkok I can see strong
evidence of his Latin American heritage in this work particularly with
the colours and the speech bubble which seems to resemble a map of
South America.

Having received the the Hugo Boss Prize by the Guggenheim Museum,
“in recognition of his profound contribution to contemporary art.” in
2004 would suggest that an investment in a work by Rikrit Tirivanija
has excellent profit potential for the future. The artist has also
exhibited at many prestigious institutions such as the The Museum of
Modern Art, New York (1997); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1999);
Center for Contemporary Art, Kitakyushu, Japan (2000); Portikus,
Frankfurt (2001); Secession, Vienna (2002); Galerie für Zeitgenossiche
Kunst, Leipzig (2003); and Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK (2003–04).

Another thing worth me mentioning is that I have never seen a print
so well wrapped and protected in all my life. The care and effort that
Serpentine gallery took to ensure that my print arrived in perfect
condition was nothing short of astonishing.

The Serpentine Gallery limited edition shop can be found here:

http://www.serpentinegallery.org/shopping/limited_edition/