City as canvas

City as canvas

As underground art starts to surface, we take a look at the coloUrful trend

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
City as canvas

On Jun 12, a noted Thai street artist named Danaiphat Lersputtitrakan, better known as Bon, will have his first solo exhibition after prolifically spraying his works both in and out of the country. He is just one of many examples of street artists who have started to get mainstream cred in the last few years. Hotels and restaurants have employed them to adorn their interiors while some have been hired by brands to use their designs. To explore this ongoing trend of underground art going overground, we talk to Bon about his upcoming exhibition, look at a hotel covered in street art, and outline where you can buy products featuring designs from Thai street artists.

Bon Da Bomb

Following successful shows by other Thai street artists, Bon Solo Show 2014 will take place at Soy Sauce Factory (Charoen Krung Soi 24, 092-115-8696) from Jun 12-18. We talk to Bon about his journey as a street artist, his first solo show, what his Mickey Mouse skull has to do with Buddhism, and more.

Bon’s most recent milestone was when he and Alex Face, another well-known street artist and his frequent collaborator, flew to open a show alongside Frieze London art week last year. He sold over 30 of his works on the opening night. You see, in the street art world, he’s quite the bomb.

Born in 1982, Ball took “Bon” as his street moniker because it’s French for good and also refers to “muebon” which is a term for those who draw on surfaces they shouldn’t. As a teen when hip hop culture was first introduced in Thailand, Bon became fascinated by different aspects of it, especially graffiti.

While studying painting at a fine arts faculty, he started spraying his graffiti fonts on the streets and thought about how to become an artist in his own right.

“On the first night, I was so scared, fearing that the police would come after me or passersby wouldn’t understand what I was trying to do,” he recalls. “I eventually realised doing tags all over the place wasn’t for me. I wanted to create works that can communicate with people more.”

He also wanted to show his works but then remembered the hassle that comes with putting together a show. “I came to the conclusion that I can finish 10 walls for hundreds of viewers at the same cost as one show that is seen by a smaller group of people,” he says.

Bon and his crew

Bo(r)n On the Streets

A decade and hundreds of spray cans later, Bon has developed distinct human and animal characters that you may have seen in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Phuket. Truly, Bon is an artist born on the streets. To him, doing street art is like a sale without a middleman, going directly to the viewers. Besides the colourful and quirky appearances of the characters he creates, Bon also tries to sell serious messages about our society and its changing culture.

For example, his masked characters represent our effort to project an image about ourselves we want others to see. He explains, “Tribesmen wear accessories or paint to distinguish themselves. The difference is that today we take things out of our body or inject something into it.”

Some of his creations are also in protest to society’s status quo. He recalls, “I snuck into an abandoned government building site once. Columns, which were paid for by taxpayers’ money, just stood there. Millions of baht were wasted so I sprayed fishbones on them. The big guys always take the flesh and leave the bones to the ordinary people.”

Another signature of his is a Mickey Mouse skull sticker that came to him while he was ordained as a monk. Bon was reading about death and had a small epiphany. “Peace is possible. When we all realise that we are going to die one day then we see no need to harm others. It is such a cool idea so I combined a skull with the peace sign.” The mouse ears are for sugar-coating.

Social Street Art

When asked about how onlookers have perceived his unconventional art-making over the years, he says, “I think people accept street art more and more. Their reaction now is so different from what it was when I first started. Back then people complained or told me to stop what I was doing. Today people look on and tell others enthusiastically that what I do is graffiti or street art. This has buoyed me. I say only one per cent still don’t like what I do.” If you have seen his works while stuck in traffic and like them, that’s good enough for him too.

He adds, “I think how people receive your work depends on what you put into it. I try to develop myself constantly and I believe my works contribute something to society. There must be something about my work that can be shared with people. If it can’t be shared then there is no point putting it out there in the first place.”

While you may think of a street artist as a kid with spray cans on the loose, Bon seems to be on some kind of mission. “I asked myself why I do what I do. I want to share something with people, to contribute to society in my way. Art alone won’t change the world for the better but if you believe that it’s part of a bigger force that leads to change then I suggest you get off your butt and go do art. Just do it, man!”

Bon’s New Voyage

The style found in Bon’s street works will be translated into his Jun 12 show.
“This show allows people to understand my works more. I didn’t do them just for fun, you know. There are thoughts and messages behind them. Man, I may look like a fool, but, damn, my works are clever!”

There will be various artistic expressions from paintings to sculptures to installations. They are more detailed and better produced than his street works. He wishes to create an experience that you won’t find at your usual art exhibition and you may also discover what goes on behind his works (and possibly have your minds blown in the process).

“Just come to my show. It will be fun. I promise it won’t be a crossing-your-arms-while-contemplating-art kind of show,” he concludes with a big laugh.


Street art takes over a hotel

By Pimchanok Phungbun Na Ayudhya

The new Beat Hotel Bangkok (5/5 Sukhumvit Road [between Sukhumvit Sois 69 and 69/1], 02-178-0077, www.beathotelbangkok.com) doesn’t offer basic white rooms with free Wi-Fi.

It’s a hotel-turned-art gallery that allows guests to enjoy a “stay in the art of Bangkok”. The Beatnik B&B boasts 54 bright rooms designed and furnished artfully by six of Bangkok’s best-loved urban artists, graphic designers and illustrators — Lolay, P7, Oh Futon, Jeep Kongdechakul, Suntur and the late Mamafaka. A well-curated collection of modern artworks greet guests in the lobby while the all-day eating room Melting Pot is a cool new spot to grab a drink and mingle with hipsters.

The art hotel is part of new artsy neighbourhood W District in Phra Kanong. The expansive complex W District dedicates its 12-rai domain to be an urban art playground with an active art space, art bazaar, soon-to-open art residency and gallery.

In Beat Hotel Bangkok, there are nine rooms that are left unpainted. The all-white cubes await young creatives to splash their colourful expressions in an upcoming artistic project. Opening rates start from B2,300.


Words on the street

We asked veteran street artist P7 for his comments on the trend.

On the rise of street art in Thailand:

I would say that, over the past six years, street art has communicated more and more with people who live in the city and provinces through its colourful appearance and characters. People now can find street art at malls, galleries, online avenues as well as on brands and products. To me, street art has been recognised for a long time.

On street artists working with brands:

I think it’s an opportunity for artists to develop skills and create art without compromising their style or integrity. In my own experience, brands have approached me because they want designs that I normally do to make their products, hotels or advertisements more contemporary or fun. Street artists around the world are balancing doing their street works with doing commercial things. There’s nothing wrong about it for me so long as the artists don’t try to please brands or compromise their integrity.

Street Style

Since you can’t take home a chunk of wall with images by your favourite street artist, we suggest buying products from URFACE (Suriyasai House, 2/F, Surawong Road, 02-637-1283, fb.com/urfacestore). Co-founded by the dearly-missed Mamafaka, the shop offers bags, wallets, iPhone cases and other accessories that feature cool designs by Mamafaka and P7 as well as other Thai artists. Show your support to local artists in style. Buy online or at their headquarters.

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