Vipoo Srivilasa: Deities of Daily Needs. The Indian Ceramic Art Foundation journal Mrin

Vipoo Srivilasa

Domus, the Keeper of Domestic Bliss, 2024

clay, glaze, gold lustre & paint

30 x 31 x 14 cm (tallest)

Vipoo Srivilasa’s Deities of Daily Needs introduces a pantheon of playful guardians attuned to the rhythms of contemporary life, exploring what it means to notice and value the everyday. Figures like Parcus, the Guide of Parking (2024), or Motiva, the Inspirer of Action (2024), preside over lost parking spots and moments of hesitation, transforming frustrations into something larger - a recognition that the smallest moments dictate our moods, shape our days, and ultimately define our lives. As part of an extension of his previous works, Srivilasa addresses daily trials in the framework of exploring the concept of joy itself. Embodying the spirit of collaboration, his practice embraces uplifting aesthetics and accessibility as a way to discuss complex questions of migration, isolation, and hope.

Born in Thailand and moving to Melbourne in the ‘90s, Srivilasa’s practice bridges cultural traditions and contemporary experience. Thai Buddhism, inherently adaptive, has long blended elements of Hinduism and local folk beliefs, responding to the needs of society as it changes. Deities are called upon for practical matters - a good harvest, family protection, even attracting customers to a new business. Yet over time, their roles shift. Some become more prominent or new ones emerge, reflecting collective desires and anxieties. Perhaps one of these deities slipped into a suitcase, and in a different country with different customs and traditions, they adapt. Re-imagining deities in an Australian context, Srivilasa considers what modern concerns must we pray for today?

The governance of these deities, though seemingly small and particular, meet us in our current moment. Where cultural specificity might once have marked boundaries, Srivilasa turns it into an invitation, drawing upon shared experiences as a way to connect. In his broader practice, he distils this inclusivity into a single word: joy. It may seem light or fleeting but carries weight when considering joy beyond passive means, existing in resistance to the world around us, carving a space for care and play. In societies built around productivity, joy finds us when we intentionally engage it. Stripped of the attention given to rituals of the unassuming, without the grounding traditions that shape our experiences, we lose a sense of purpose.

In the exhibition for this series, Deities of Daily Needs, 2024 at N.Smith Gallery, visitors were invited to write their wishes, frustrations, and gratitudes on paper garlands, offering them up to a deity of their choice. These were added to an evolving installation, creating a tangible representation of gratitude reminiscent of the Buddhist practice of merit-making, where small gestures ripple outward, shaping both the individual and the world around them. Visitors were invited to reflect on their own lives and then explore the anonymous hopes and joys of others, forming a quiet collective consciousness centred around positive thought. Activated by participation, the work extended Srivilasa’s community-driven practice, where collaboration is not just a method, but the subject itself. His deities, too, belong to this collective, their presence enriched by those who engage with them.

For Srivilasa, the small is never insignificant. Instead, it is revered. As a queer, culturally diverse artist who has moved across continents, he understands how identity is shaped not just by grand events but by the quiet routines that help us find stability. What may seem unremarkable to some demands care and attention from others. In this way, his work creates space for those who feel small, offering a sense of belonging within the rhythms of the everyday.

Keeping a houseplant alive, escaping awkward small talk, trying to rest in a world that rarely permits stillness. Breathing life into these concerns, Srivilasa personifies them with beady-eyes that bloom for our attention, their playful energy impossible to ignore. Exuberant and animated, their almost childlike eagerness reminds us of a deeper provocation. Why is it that we dismiss the small? Increasingly, our cultures allow daily rituals to fade into the background, their significance diminished in favor of a ceaseless personal and professional productivity. But if we shift our perspective, these menial acts - simply listening to what the body needs - become a ritual in itself, acts of intention that anchor us in the present.

By re-imagining joy as personal and ever-shifting, Deities of Daily Needs becomes both an exercise in acceptance and an act of celebration. Srivilasa’s deities offer comfort, but they also encourage gratitude, nudging us towards a new framework of seeing. His practice anchors our individual and intimate experiences in something monumental, something divine and cared for, even in moments of exhaustion. He invites us to open ourselves to what is immediately in front of us, to recognize how even within ‘universal’ experiences, we each navigate them in deeply individual ways. And in doing so, he reminds us that joy, at its core, is an act of recognition - a way of honouring the life we are already living.

(Adapted from Vipoo Srivilasa: Deities of Daily Needs, 2024 exhibition text at N.Smith Gallery.)