Faculties of art – Bangkok Post

The atmosphere at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) has been more captivating than usual since it started running two parallel art exhibitions. “Lingering Reverie” and “Sufficient (Perfection)” both began last month as part of the launch of the university’s School of Digital Arts and Design.

“Lingering Reverie” is an outdoor exhibition featuring three striking sculptures: a dog full of holes, a 610cm sitting statue and a moody child in a rabbit suit. These pieces were designed by celebrated artists Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch, Thaweesak Srithongdee, aka LoLay, and Patcharapon Tangruen, aka Alex Face, respectively. “Sufficient (Perfection)”, meanwhile, is a compilation of interactive designs, installations, illustrations and photography by six UTCC instructors, led by Jakraphun Thanateeranon who is also curator of both exhibitions.

“As public art, the sculptures are terrific for an outdoor exhibition and provide a better learning atmosphere for the university. The title ‘Lingering Reverie’ refers to government policies, such as support for grassroots economy, preparing for an ageing society and pollution management, all of which are in a state of flux. Though the policies haven’t materialised, Thai people don’t mind,” Jakraphun said, explaining the theme of the exhibition.

The tall white fibreglass sculpture that looks like a girl sitting calmly is Thaweesak’s Dollar. It was inspired by a social issue that fits the exhibition’s theme particularly well.

“People like to go with the flow until they are no longer themselves. I wanted to create a distinctive symbol. The sculpture is called Dollar because that is the world’s most powerful currency. Dollar was first displayed at Siam Paragon where everything around it was constantly moving. Dollar, by contrast, always sits still,” Thaweesak explained. Part of his inspiration for the piece came from being a father. The reason he chose to make Dollar white, he says, is because he wanted her to be childlike, and he believes children are pure like white cloth.

Alex Face, one of Thailand’s best known street artists, is the man behind the sculpture Great Migration. This is one which visitors will instantly recognise. The sad-looking three-eyed childlike figure in a rabbit suit is generally referred to by the name Mardi, or sometimes Third Eye Rabbit, although the artist himself says the character has no particular name. Like Thaweesak, Alex is a father — his daughter provided the inspiration for Mardi when she was a baby.

“The face was inspired by my daughter’s. I wanted to draw the worry on her face. I wanted people to ask why the child was moody and hopefully provoke a broader discussion about society. I used a rabbit because I feel that rabbits are prey and children are often victims in society,” he explained.

The third sculpture is I-Jud or “Dots Dog”. Inspired by Thai street dogs, I-Jud has been exhibited locally and internationally for more than a decade, proving its enduring popularity. Wasinburee, the sculpture’s creator, has won awards for his work with ceramics. He says that I-Jud is a symbol of contemporary and community art, and believes that people need art to be a part of a community.

“In the past, some people said my pieces were containers, so they were ‘crafts’ and not ‘art’. I decided to put holes in them so they would no longer be functional. I-Jud connects with everyone. Children don’t need to understand art to appreciate him. They may climb up on his back and use their imagination. Whenever I-Jud goes on tour, we receive a lot of donations, which we used them to develop Ratchaburi National Museum,” said Wasinburee, a Ratchaburi native.

Though the theme of “Lingering Reverie” is clearly political, the artists claim not to be interested in politics. Thaweesak rejects politicians as untrustworthy. Wasinburee says he doesn’t understand politics enough to express it through his work, although his piece Rod Tang Lai Kram, porcelain sculptures in the shape of military tanks, attracted criticism for its political implications.

“I was impressed with a Chinese porcelain ‘Dragoon Vase’ collection in a German museum. A Prussian king traded the collection for a regiment of dragoons. I thought that was cool because it showed that art was more powerful than military. Some people might think it a political issue. For me, the king was obsessed with art and didn’t care about military power,” Wasinburee said.

Alex says he is not political either, but he believes that politics affects our lives.

“I don’t create art to talk about politics particularly, but it affects me and I bring some of these effects into my work. We can’t avoid talking about it,” he said.

At UTCC’s School of Digital Arts and Design, students learn how to use digital technology to create and present their designs. It may come as some surprise then that all three artists prefer traditional methods for creating their work. Wasinburee uses both digital and film cameras, but says the process of developing photographs is fascinating.

“People used to debate whether film was better than digital. I like both, but I like the atmosphere inside a darkroom, while you’re waiting for a photo to develop. Both digital and film cameras are tools for recording memories and telling stories,” Wasinburee said.

As a student, Alex wasn’t a fan of new forms of technology.

“I barely understood computer design programmes. It is great to be well rounded, but I wasn’t ready at the time. Recently, I bought an iPad and it’s made my life easier. When a client asks me to change colours in a design, I don’t have to do everything all over again. I also use it to make a sculpture’s scale and proportions accurate. When I worked on Great Migration, it took lots of time because it was made by hand,” he said.

Success as an artist is still very hard to achieve in Thailand. So how did these guys do it?

“Don’t think about creating something just so that people will like it. Do whatever you want. Express yourself, let yourself go, let yourself get obsessed. If you make something incredibly crazy, people will come to you,” Thaweesak suggested.

“Don’t just think about things, then never do anything to make it happen. There have been several times that my ideas came out differently from what I expected. But then I was inspired to do something else the next time, so the outcome is sometimes better than you could have imagined,” Wasinburee said.

Here are just two highlights from “Sufficient (Perfection)” at the UTCC gallery.

Multimedia is one of the most popular subjects at the School of Digital Arts and Design. Maze Exit by Chakraphun Suebsan is an interactive variable dimension multimedia piece depicting the cycle of life and reincarnation. Inspired by Rubik’s Cube, Maze Exit is a challenging, hard to solve puzzle.

“Capturing The Beauty Of The Night Sky” is a photo collection of stars, the Moon, the Sun and the Milky Way galaxy taken by Asst Prof. Kalun Warapitayut. The photo series showcases his technical expertise and distinctive eye, as well as his patience in following heavenly bodies for the right time and place to capture them.

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