• THAILAND

  What's in a name?

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 02/11/2016

  » For "smooth cultural integration", Thai international study agency Smart NZ Education advises that students with nicknames like Poo, Pee and Porn consider alternatives. The issue made headlines earlier last month after a report by the New Zealand Herald indicated that students might get "harassed if nothing is done". That's not unlikely, despite the fact that "faeces", "urine" and "pornography" -- the formal English words for the aforementioned nicknames -- weren't exactly those parents' intention when their children first came into the world.

• LIFE

  Abstractions and acquaintances

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 09/03/2016

  » As the title "Dusadee + Dusit + Lovers + Dead Ones" suggests, Dusadee Huntrakul's current exhibition at Chulalongkorn University's The Art Center is not exactly a solo show, but a bit of a reunion.

• LIFE

  Personal scars, political history

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 12/10/2016

  » In "Under The Same Sky", the latest exhibition at Nova Contemporary by photographer Tada Hengsapkul and artist Chai Siris, personal history and that of the world entwine. In no way does the show appear to strive at having these narratives untangled.

• LIFE

  Loss and longing

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 02/06/2016

  » It's not until we have seen the ongoing show "Lhong", a project comprising of five short plays, that we realise how much the space of Democrazy Theatre Studio actually has to offer. We usually just buy some beers at a little café in front and then head straight into the space inside, and that's it.

• LIFE

  The Island Funeral scoops prestigious film award

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 06/11/2015

  » Several years in the making, director Pimpaka Towira's feature film The Island Funeral (Maha Samut Lae Susan) won the Asian Future Film Award at the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival last weekend. The award, which was established two years ago, is given to the best work by first- and second-time directors.

• LIFE

  Bangkok is alive with the sound of music

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 01/04/2015

  » Last year was a quiet for musicals in Bangkok. This year, however, we have already seen two musical productions, from a small adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion at Thonglor Art Space to the original Broadway musical Beauty And The Beast earlier this month. This week alone, there are two more productions, from veteran Yuthtana Lopanpaibul's Thai version of The Sound Of Music opening tomorrow at Muangthai Rachadalai Theatre, to, beginning on Saturday, a stage adaptation by Teravat Anuvatudom of the 2004 film Hom Rong (The Overture), the debut performance at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha, Siam Square One.

• LIFE

  Guns and roses

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 04/01/2017

  » The atmosphere at the Jim Thompson Art Center is seemingly intimidating. Two larger-than-life rifles stand threateningly tall. In a 24-channel video installation, entitled The Game, we see military-clad twin brothers on a motorcycle, rifles in hands.

• LIFE

  From the past, into the future

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 10/02/2015

  » There are three versions of Korakrit Arunanondchai, one of Thailand's hottest mavericks whose works have been shown internationally in recent years: first, Korakrit in person, who isn't the most comprehensible of talkers; second, the Korakrit he professes himself to be, which is a jeans-clad, fiery-haired, spontaneous painter and gangster/rapper performance artist.

• OPINION

  Sooner or later, it's game over

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 20/02/2015

  » Last week I was invited to join a panel on the topic "Why Criticism?", at Speedy Grandma, a small gallery in Charoen Krung. Along with a university literature lecturer and a film critic, I was invited as an arts and theatre critic. Before agreeing to participate, I insisted to the organisers that I'm not a critic, and it's unlikely that I will consider myself one anytime soon.

• OPINION

  In the name of the father?

  Life, Kaona Pongpipat, Published on 05/12/2014

  » Today is Father's Day, so it's natural that I talk about my dad. But there's really nothing to say about him other than he just made me a pot pie with extra quail eggs this morning, and is now, as you are reading this, probably swimming to Bee Gees tunes on a Sony waterproof MP3 player he just bought.

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