The "end of history" will not come tomorrow is a solo exhibition by Wantanee Siripattananuntakul in 2022. This project deepens her ongoing critique of financial systems, focusing on power, access to economic and social capital, and the inequities of occupational compensation, first explored in her 2012 exhibition. Following her 2015 investigation into unfair monetary flows within the economy and her 2018 survey of homeownership rights, this new work examines the politics of everyday life through the lens of tax payments.
The project began when the artist reflected on the amount of taxes—both direct and indirect—that she paid in 2019. She analyzed this data using statistical methods while simultaneously creating a unique series of artworks called Tax Paintings, transforming mundane tax payment records into thought-provoking visual representations.
The first part of the project consists of 300 paintings, each representing evidence of tax payments. These paintings are expanded with the corresponding tax rate percentages, reflecting the artist's consumption patterns. Through these visualizations, Wantanee exposes the hidden realities of daily expenditures, revealing how everyday spending patterns reflect the irregularities of social life. The paintings highlight the tragedy of inequality—not just the lack of resources but the inaccessibility and inefficiency of opportunities available to specific individuals.
The exhibition’s second part, titled "The More You Pay, The More They Need", features nine blank A4 sheets. These were created by blending all her daily tax payment receipts, which served as references for her paintings, with three legal documents—totalling nine pages—that highlight tax exemptions granted to individuals with close connections to the ruling class. Through this powerful juxtaposition, the artist critiques how tax privileges benefit the well-connected, deepening social inequality and urging viewers to reconsider the status quo.
Ultimately, this project goes beyond tax management; it reflects on the broader quality of life and the societal structures that sustain inequality. By juxtaposing personal tax burdens with privileged exemptions, the work raises critical questions about fairness, access, and the political nature of everyday economics.