Amongst the People by Thai–Aotearoa New Zealand artist Sorawit Songsataya is a sculptural installation made up of cylinders, hemispheres and cuboids of Ōamaru limestone. Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū acquired this work in 2023.

In the exhibition He Kapuka Oneone—A Handful of Soil, the work occupies its own alcove. It consists of two large, shallow hemispheres of limestone, each about 70 centimetres across, sitting on the floor diagonally opposite each other. Between them are two large, low, black wooden platforms. When approaching the artwork, you first encounter the larger platform, which is about five metres long and two metres wide. On it stand three pillars made of unevenly stacked cylindrical blocks of smooth, carved limestone. From left to right, they are the height of a tall standing adult’s waist, head and shoulders. The second, smaller platform supports two more limestone pillars, about knee height and chest height, and an upright, rectangular limestone cuboid with a rounded bump on one side. Nearby, on the floor, is a second, larger rectangular cuboid lying on its side.

Carved into the blocks of pale, milky limestone are resin- and beeswax-filled cavities containing items that represent the artist’s connections to Aotearoa and Thailand. The first of the two hemispheres has two round cavities in the flat surface, one filled with dried plant tendrils and acrylic nails in clear resin and the other with shells in sweet-smelling beeswax. Between the cavities, the stone is stamped with impressions of the feet of the kōtuku, or white heron, and scattered with dried petals and cereals. The bowls carved into the top of the second limestone hemisphere contain the string of a musical instrument, kōwhai seed pods, mussel shells and flowers in clear resin. Stamped with the same kōtuku footprints, the flat surface is topped with citrus peels, seeds and mussel shells. Reminiscent of washbowl altars holding offerings, these softly sparkling features are a fitting complement to the pillars, which echo the temple columns and the stilts of raised Thai houses.

Songsataya is interested in making sound visible: in this work the rectangular limestone blocks are carved into renditions of speakers. Small recesses of resin on their surfaces have been cut at angles, making them look like shining rockpools where the elements they contain – plants, shells and synthetic eyelashes – can be seen more clearly.

Amongst the People draws attention to what the artist has described as the “third place” they occupy, transcending their diasporic and gender identities. For Songsataya, limestone is a skeletal rock that embodies the ideas of land-memory and genealogy of place, which is especially appropriate in Aotearoa where whenua, or land, and whakapapa, or genealogy, are interwoven. This work encourages us to listen to the land and understand how it shapes us.