Kult (Street Artist)
My favorite artist is… Egon Schiele. He has a very weird style and great use of color and lines. It’s hard to find that style in Thai artwork, but many artists in the Buk Ruk Festival come very close. Lolay, for instance, is very talented.
My favorite art gallery in Bangkok is… the BACC. I like that they feature contemporary art from international artists. Getting my work showcased there was truly a mark of success; it felt like the art community was acknowledging my work, even though street art is not always taken seriously.
One thing I love about the Thai art scene is… big events like the Bukruk Festival. It’s a great step for art in Thailand. Since it’s a big event that is taking over the whole city, it helps to open people’s eyes and prove that art is all around. Plus, anyone can walk past and see it, even if they’re not interested in art. Urban art needs to be urban, not sit in an art gallery.
One thing that bugs me about the Thai art scene is… that Thai artists are still scared to experiment outside the norm. In this respect, international artists are way ahead of us. They do a lot of things that stray away from tradition while many Thai artists still stick to watercolor and oil paintings. Not that there’s anything wrong with those art forms, but I’d love to see more independent thought and concepts.
When it comes to graffiti in Thailand, I think it is… getting better. Most adults still think it is vandalism, but a lot of teenagers and young adults understand it better and acknowledge it as a serious art form. We need to show everyone that graffiti is art, too. Make graffiti beautiful, not dirty.
