Haumea (2013) by Tawatchai Puntusawasdi was acquired by the M Art Foundation and donated to the Singapore Art Museum.
In Haumea, Tawatchai Puntusawasdi transforms a conceptual question into sculptural form: what would the Earth’s shadow look like if its spherical shape were distorted? Drawing from geometry, orthographic projection, and mathematical logic, the work meditates on distortion, balance, and the unseen forces shaping our perception of space.
Standing over two metres tall, the sculpture is made of thousands of individually shaped metal plates, each carefully measured, drawn, and assembled by hand. What began as a speculative sketch evolved through a rigorous design and fabrication process into a complex, elegant form. Tawatchai’s accompanying drawings trace this journey from idea to object, where mathematical precision meets imaginative inquiry.
Navigating between the rational and intuitive, abstract and material, Tawatchai’s work tests perception and explores the boundary between certainty and doubt. Haumea’s shifting dimensionality invites viewers to see form not as fixed but as a process of continual recalibration.
This donation forms part of M Art Foundation’s wider international network collaborating with leading institutions worldwide. We are honoured to contribute to SAM’s growing collection and support its commitment to diverse, forward-thinking Southeast Asian and international practices. With visionary programming and strong institutional ties, SAM remains a vital partner in shaping contemporary art discourse in the region.
Since its founding, M Art Foundation has championed artist-driven approaches, launching initiatives focused on art and technology, ecology, materiality, and narrative, alongside curatorial projects exploring interdisciplinarity and performativity. Following its relocation to Singapore, the Foundation has deepened engagement with Chinese and Southeast Asian artists through locally rooted research and partnerships.
Tawatchai Puntusawasdi (b. 1971, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand) lives and works in Chiang Mai. He studied architecture at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang before completing his MFA at Chiang Mai University. His work has been exhibited widely in Asia and internationally, including in the Bangkok Art Biennale, Thailand (2018, 2020, 2022); the 6th Singapore Biennale, Singapore (2019); Museum MACAN, Jakarta (2021); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2017); Asia Society, New York (2012); and the Venice Biennale (2003).
