A Rant, Romp, and Stomp Through Bangkok Street Art
A couple of weeks ago, we promised to look at some street art in Bangkok. The street art scene in the City of Angels has been building for several years, and it received a big boost during the BUKRUK project which ran from January 23 to 31 back in 2016. This was quite a time for art in Thailand as the project featured public wall paintings, art exhibitions, artists talks and an animation night with two music stages in on open-air festival. The project brought artists and art lovers together from all over the world and helped put Bangkok on the map as an emerging street art city. You can learn more about this on their website www.bukruk.com.
We were living in Chiang Mai at the time and were busy exploring the Lanna culture of the north, so we weren’t able to attend the festival. Today we’ll start to make amends as we look at the street art created during this time, some of which is still on display on Charon Krung Soi 32 and vicinity. When I first started researching about the art in this area, I was a bit concerned about how kind the ravages of time had been to this body of work. After all, the hot sun and monsoon rains of the climate present a challenge to just normal painted walls, let alone some of the fleeting archival qualities of artists paint, even the kind that comes from a spray can.
Enjoy the Journey
One of many paintings on the wall…
Charon Krung Road, constructed between 1862–1864, was the first road in Thailand that was built using modern methods. This scenic route runs from Rattanakosin Island, passes through Bangkok’s Chinatown, continues into Bang Rak District, which used to be a community of European expatriates, before ending in Bang Kho Laem. These areas are all steeped in history and worth exploring in their own right. When you reach Soi 32, please exit the taxi without asking him to turn into the soi. –I’ll get to the reason in a bit.
You’ll know that you’re in the right place because you’ll see throngs of other arty looking tourists in the area. On your right, you’ll pass by a post office. My Hot Tip of the Day: The post offices in Thailand are staffed with friendly helpful people, AND they have clean western toilets. Keep walking…
Art? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Art!
Soon you’ll come to a line of parked taxis, and if you look behind the taxis, you’ll see a long wall covered with paintings from the BUKRUK project. I was angry, but gritted my teeth and bided my time, quickly photographing a mural as one taxi moved and another took its place. I was able to slip in beside some of the cars and make photographs due to the short working distance needed for a fisheye lens. It’s so ironic and annoying that the very people who are making money by bringing art lovers here to see the paintings have no qualms about blocking the view of the art with their cars! (end of rant~almost) The following images of the paintings are in no particular order as I spent two hours running back and forth as the cars came and went.
Where is She when We Need Her?
A woman in a one-piece swimsuit with a glove and a gun; whats not to love about it? This work is credited to an artist named Phai, who I presume is Thai. Maybe Phai had an idea of the future visibility of the artwork!
A Famous Local Artist
Alex Face is a local artist whose work can be seen on walls all over the kingdom as well as in some galleries. A friend of mine finds his work creepy and unsettling. I know what she means, but I don’t think that is Alex Face’s primary intention. Personally,I love his work, and to me, it’s everything art should be: Simple with a uniquely recognizable style as well as thought and feeling provoking. Hopefully someday fortune catches up with this artist’s fame so he can fulfill his dream of adorning walls around the world.
Let’s Stir Up Some Trouble 555
Here’s a painting of what appears to be an angry black panther by Sabek. Did Sabek have a premonition of the outrage caused over the recent killing of a similar animal? (That should do it!)
A Tight Squeeze Behind a Philistine Taxi for This Photo
It took a while for this work by Bonus TMC to hit me; then it reminded me of the P-40B Tiger Shark model plane I had assembled in my youth. I don’t mean to imply that the feelings and thoughts that the paintings evoked for me are in any way universal, and that’s why it’s fun to see and discuss art with others.
Art and Life Meet
I started to remove the barriers that had been left in front of the painting shown above but decided to let it tell its own story. There are many other paintings on the same wall in this area, but I’ll leave some for you to discover for yourself. I should also mention that there are several food stands and cafes in this area where you can eat and meet up with other travelers and local art lovers. On your right, as you retrace your steps out to Charon Krung Road, you’ll see the Bangkok branch of the Thailand Creative & Design Center. “The TCDC was founded to integrate the ingeniousness of Thai society and culture with modern knowledge and technology. TCDC is, neither a school nor a research center, but a source of ‘intellectual entertainment,’ inspiring and aspiring Thai society with creativity through international learning process; from exhibitions, talks, workshops, to a resource center sparking creativities in different dimensions. This is the fundamental of human resource development of the country.” Be sure to see if their current exhibit interests you and check out their website for online exhibits. I’m proud to say that the Chiang Mai branch of the TCDC has our THAILAND 180º book in its collection. Ah-hem…
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Blog : Thai by Apisatha Hussadee Giunca
Blog : English by George Edward Giunca
About the Authors
Photographer George Edward Giunca, and his Thai wife, Apisatha, have traveled around Thailand armed with a circular fisheye lens to create a photo essay on the rich cultural diversity, and abundant natural beauty of the Kingdom of Thailand. Fleeing from angry water buffaloes, slapping huge mosquitoes, watching exotic festivals and religious rituals, gorging on delicious spicy food, applying aloe vera cream to sunburned skin, wading through rice paddies, getting drenched to the bone by heavy monsoon rains, and gawking at breath-taking scenery; made it a journey of epic proportions! The result is the book, THAILAND 180º. Later, they traveled extensively through Myanmar, Malaysia, and India, gathering a massive collections of 180º photos. They currently live in Chiang Mai where they continue to blog and are now working on a CHIANG MAI 180º book.
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from all over Thailand~ See inside and learn more HERE
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Not Familiar with Our Book???
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
Also, because there’s nothing to watch on TV, here’s a trailer about our book, “THAILAND 180”
Above is an interactive map of Thailand. If you click on a marker it reveals a photo from our THAILAND 180º book and a link to our blog article about the photo. Go Ahead~ Start Exploring ~Have Some Fun!
