Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Memes of dissent
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/08/2023
» It is not as whimsical as it seems. After the onset of the largest pro-democracy movement since the military coup in 2014, university and high school students cuddled hamster dolls and ran around in circles. "Delicious tax!", hundreds of them sang, from a cartoon jingle at Democracy Monument in late July 2020. Crowdsourced from a social media platform, Hamtaro, a shorthand for caged mice demanding freedom, spawned many internet memes, including a greedy caricature of junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.
A sustainable model
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 26/07/2023
» Over a decade ago, Aracha Boon-Long embarked on her first journey to Doi Luang Chiang Dao. No signal. Silence. Sometimes, the forest made strange sounds at night. Only when she made it to the summit, a herd of gorals appeared and lay down basking in the first daylight. It is the moment when life begins. She thought to herself how small she is in the face of nature. What could she do to protect her home?
A vanishing heritage
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/07/2023
» If it were not for a handful of visitors, the Chao Mae Thap Thim Shrine would completely vanish. Flanked by metal sheet fences, a narrow alley leads to the remnants of age-old communities. An entrance is adorned with red lanterns. A facade is painted with mythological figures. A roof is embellished with tile dolls. The smell of burning incense wafts through the open gate. Inside, deities are worshipped on an altar with a gilded frame.
Buzzing with creativity
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/12/2022
» The eighth edition of Chiang Mai Design Week, a nine-day cultural festival that wrapped up last week, was a manifesto of the melting pot that is this northern province. At an out-of-use warehouse in Chang Moi, a group of local artists who took part in a homecoming project exhibited objects from their neighbourhoods in the style of Renaissance curiosity. Here, Achariyar Rojanapirom and Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri curated personal items from their cupboard, including a bowl of stir-fried salted chilli from a nam ngiao shop in the old town, to show how they remain contemporary.
Will AI replace artists?
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 05/12/2022
» What were you doing at 25? The quarter-life edition of the Singapore Writers Festival has opened up an opportunity for artists to reflect on their creative life. When the question came up in our conversation, two of them laughed (I am still 25!). In those days, Oniatta Effendi taught drama, while Chow Teck Seng taught Chinese literature. It was not until recently they quit.
Bangkok serves as inspiration in new show
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 18/10/2022
» After British artist Andrew Stahl set foot in Thailand, he spent much of the day exploring Bangkok. It is a jumble of many buildings from modern high rises and bright neon signs to rickety shophouses and temples that never cease to amaze him although he is a frequent visitor. It has provided inspiration for his latest exhibition "Sparkling City".
Reviving a lost art
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 28/06/2022
» Sitting in the front row of an independent movie house, Piak Poster, 90, looks at a photo of his original work on screen -- the pulpy handmade bai pid or film poster of Fah Talai Jone (Tears Of The Black Tiger, 2000). However, he could not remember how he made it, let alone its tear-jerking storyline and characters.
Graffiti artist follows his rebellious roots
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/06/2022
» A daubed wall marks off a rundown area where makeshift houses were put up for rent, a stone's throw from a luxury condominium in the heart of Bangkok's Sathon. A 40-year-old man exits his car with pink luggage. He puts on a black hat and ties a small cloth around his head. He's wearing a long-sleeve checked shirt, shorts, and black sneakers and his socks are printed with cannabis patterns. Mue Bon, literally translated as "restless hands", opens his arsenal and begins to spray paint a rough sketch of the flightless black bird on the wall.
Artists try to show the way
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/01/2022
» Last spring, thousands of butterflies fluttered yellow-green wings over the mud fields in Nakhon Ratchasima. The massive outbreak of these chartreuse creatures, though a common sight in the summer, made headlines after officials said the lush forest had nourished and multiplied caterpillars at an unprecedented scale.
Thailand enters planet database
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 05/08/2021
» Thailand's first lunar soil replica has made its way to the Planetary Simulant Database, the only comprehensive catalogue of past and present regolith clones.