Showing 1 - 10 of 12
Unveiling layers of himself
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 08/02/2017
» A photography show on display at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre's Studio room on the fourth floor is anything but pictorial in the traditional sense. Confronting viewers right after entering is a collage of shots arranged together, kaleidoscope-like. Nearby, four images placed together capture the photographer's motion while walking. Further inside, the photographer's self-portrait is ghostly transparent as a result of an experiment with long exposure.
Importance of moving on amid our grief
News, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 28/10/2016
» It has been two weeks now since the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. For many of us, everything is still surreal wherein time is no factor. Since that fateful afternoon, the whole nation has turned black. "You'll no longer see what you have seen, but what you haven't seen before," someone wrote on his Facebook post. This is precisely the case.
Urban exploration
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 13/10/2016
» The basement space in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre's art library is usually bare and unexciting. Now, however, it's filled with an array of patterns -- abstract from one angle, vaguely figurative from another -- in forms of tapestry and felt that work as canvases and even sculptural forms.
Stay positive
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 21/09/2016
» 'Smile. No matter how bad today is, tomorrow is going to be better." This is just one of a number of encouraging quotes one can find on SabaiJai, a mobile application developed by Khon Kaen University's Department of Computer Science and Khon Kaen Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, which was launched earlier this month on the occasion of this year's World Suicide Prevention Day.
Clay play
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 14/07/2016
» Bowls, dishes and cups are stripped of their original function in the exhibition "The Ceramic View Bangkok" at the National Gallery. Their forms are extorted, and at times, there are no recognisable shapes left at all. Ceramic, a material usually associated with kitchenware or decorative items, is employed in this show, as paint is by painters, to create pieces of art.
Bird on a wire
Muse, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 16/01/2016
» Kawita Vatanajyankur feels like an outsider wherever she is. In Melbourne, where the 28-year-old artist spent a decade through high school and university, it wasn’t really home. Back in Bangkok for four years now, and she doesn’t feel Thai, either. Who she is as an artist and the person she is as she sits down for an interview are equally in a state of flux.
The joke that isn't funny anymore
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 08/07/2015
» For quite a while I had managed to completely wipe Gen Prayut out of my mind. By turning off the familiar tune Return Happiness To Thailand as soon as it comes on, by ignoring the latest absurdities shared on Facebook and by not engaging in a conversation criticising our dear leader and the NCPO, it was a state of blissful apathy. Without news consumption, anger was starved and eventually died. As the state of calm ignorance shifted in, life was OK again.
Bangkok's long wait to appreciate the arts
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 18/06/2015
» Last week, I had a chance to visit a few museums in Paris. On the first Sunday of every month, admission to most museums in the city — The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Musée Picasso, etc — is free. What struck me most was not Monet's water lily paintings rooms in Musée de l'Orangerie, Matisse's paper cut-outs room at Centre Pompidou, nor Mona Lisa's smile in that suffocatingly-touristy room in the Louvre. It was the long lines of crowds gathered in front of these places, from early in the morning, as if they were at pilgrimage sites or department stores offering 50% discounts.
Writing Asean's future
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 11/05/2015
» Thai national artist and prominent writer Prabhassorn Sevikul grieves over the state of Thai contemporary literature. He concedes that there no longer seems to be any serious literature, that works these days are mostly light and very commercial. He believes Thai popular contemporary literature is only for those who have won awards.
Curators' favourite exhibitions of 2014
Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 19/12/2014
» This year visual art, compared to theatre and film, has not been all that politically active despite 2014, with its mass protests, coup and subsequent outcry for freedom of expression being one of the most tumultuous years in recent history.While most galleries have retained their stance on putting on exhibitions purely for aesthetic purposes, it's exciting to see a few small art spaces that have been active in providing alternative venues for young artists. In this round-up, Life asks five curators to pick their favourite shows of the year.