Pomme Chan or Thatchamapan Chanchamratsang, a Thai illustrator who has made a name for herself on the world stage, said she was inspired by the shape of an O, which is used as a symbol for CentralWorld. It represents “Global” and is used as the main feature in 12 artworks, each of which features a character from today’s world. The 12 characters include Glamorous, Sweet Sixteen, Street, and Traveller.

Popular illustrator Suntur or Yozanun Wutigonsombutkul says: “I believe everyone has a different personal passion and they have their own little worlds. Some people love fashion, some people like art and this is what I am trying to show through these illustrations.”

Suntur is known for simple lines in bright colours that tell the story of individuals, their preferences, optimistic views and good moods. He wittily brings stories from everyday life to the fore in a way that is easy to understand.

Pakorn Partanapat, chief operating officer of Central Pattana, opened the exhibition in the company of the artists and celebrities Virithipa Phakdeeprasong, Arak Amornsupasiri, Chitsing Somboon, Kongpat Sakdapitak, and Jirat Pornpanitpan

Mamafaka was the pen name of graphic designer- street artist Pharuephan “Tum” Mukdasanit, who created “Mr Hellyeah!” – of one of the most recognisable characters in Thai pop art.

The hairy, one-eyed monster with a moustache was everywhere to be seen in the big cities.

Tum drowned in a surfing accident off Phuket in 2013, just 35 years old.

The exhibition will feature both art and music.

Six artworks from the Mamafaka Gallery in Khon Kaen will form a tribute to the late artist who was an inspiration to many others. You can see the Mr Hellyeah! Craftsman limited edition Vespa scooter with matching bug antennae. There are also the Mr HellYeah! photo frame, baseball bats, the Preduce x MMFK Mr Hellyeah! deck series, and Mamafaka bags made in collaboration with Urface.

Postcards, posters and the Literoom X Mamafaka “Hell Yeah Sailor Rabbit” prints will be on sale, every one of them numbered and signed by Tum.

A souvenir specifically produced for the exhibition is a Mamafaka bag, with proceeds from sales going to the Mamafaka Gallery for the preservation of his artworks.

Indie bands will provide the music for the event. You can see Safe Planet, Telex Telexs and De Flamingo on September 30 and Penny Time, Chanudom and Bomb at Track on October 1 at the Atrium next to the Walk of Fame.

Find out more at http://www.ShowDC.co.th and its Facebook page.

Continuing through November 2, the exhibition will allow s to explore the original Hokusai Manga and see how these connect with contemporary Japanese illustrations created by seven manga artists.

With the similarities and differences between modern Japanese manga and Hokusai’s manga, the exhibition approaches the Hokusai Manga from the perspective of contemporary Japanese comics, focusing on genre, pictorial storytelling and participatory culture rather than the integration of word and image of the role of popular characters.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849) is one of the most innovative painter-illustrators gained his reputation not only in Japan but also in Europe and North America in the late 19th century. Broadening the scope of ukiyo-e (literary translated as “pictures of the floating world”), he depicted courtesans and stage actors, published landscapes series, illustrated entertaining narratives, and even held painting performances.

He is best known from “The Great Wave” (Kanagawa Oki Namiura), which was released as the 21st print of his series, “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”.

Another great achievement is his collection of illustrations called Hokusai Manga, which are regarded as the forerunners of Japanese cartoons.

After Chiang Rai, the exhibition moves to Hat Yai where it will be on show from November 14 to December 5. Admission is free.

Find out more at http://www.Facebook.com/jfbangkok.

There are many interesting aspects to the exhibition “Siam and the World War I Centenary”, not least the fact that the curator is a specialist in contemporary art. Chitti Kasemkitvatana brings vivid modernity to a century-old story in the show continuing at the King Vajiravudh Memorial Hall in Bangkok’s National Library until September 30.

Siam lost 19 men in the war, from an expeditionary force of 1,233 troops, though none fell in combat.

Chitti spent the past seven months working under the auspices of the King Vajiravudh Memorial Foundation under Royal Patronage, assembling photos, documents and other artefacts recalling King Vajiravudh’s declaration of war on faraway enemies 100 years ago.

The Kingdom of Siam declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary in mid-1917, three years into the European conflict. It came to be known as the Great War, and much later World War I, after the belligerents came to blows again in an even wider global struggle.

The exhibition’s centrepiece is a wax likeness of King Rama VI in ceremonial costume, his left hand on the sword of King Naresuan, his right hand holding a twig of Java cassia, symbolising victory.  Nation/Tanachai Pramarnpani

The exhibition opens with a wax likeness of King Rama VI in a striking, ruby-hued ceremonial costume, his left hand on the replica sword of King Naresuan in its scabbard, his right hand holding a twig of Java cassia, symbolising victory. A sacred bael leaf can be seen behind one ear.

The costume is an exact replica of the attire he wore when committing Siamese troops to battle in Europe.

You know immediately this is going to be a visually interesting show.

Chitti and his team uncovered little-seen documentation of those times, including newspapers and silent film footage from overseas covering Siam’s surprising entry into the war.

The soldiers returned wearing Croix de Guerre medals awarded by a grateful French government and, on reaching home, received Order of Rama decorations from the King, some of which are on display.

The King decorated soldiers returning from the war, who also received the Croix de Guerre from the French government. Nation/Tanachai Pramarnpani

Much of the information presented was gleaned from Suchira Gutarak’s history textbook “King Vajiravuth and World War I”. It explains the background context of Siam’s declaration of war on July 22, 1917, aimed at upholding “impartiality and equality as well as maintaining international laws among righteous countries”.

A copy of the declaration itself is on view, along with his speeches about the crisis and photos of him in various military uniforms, including that of a British Army general, an honorary rank he held.

The King graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1898 and was briefly commissioned in the Durham Light Infantry.

Bangkok has a First World War Volunteers Memorial near the National Museum and it too appears in pictures in the show.

A photograph taken at the conclusion of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, at which the so-called Versailles peace treaty was signed, features two Siamese princes: His Highness Charoon- sakdi Kritakara was there as minister plenipotentiary and His Serene Highness Traidos Prabandhu as under-secretary of state for foreign affairs.

Two Siamese princes had places of honour at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.

“We found out online that there were archives of newspaper reports about Siam and World War I in Paris, so I asked my team member studying in Paris to scour the local antique shops,” Chitti says.

“She was able to find this very important photo from the peace conference, in which the Thai princes are sitting next to French and American officials. It shows how significantly Siam was regarded at the time.”

Chitti is now curator-in-residence for Mrigadayavan Palace Foundation, which looks after Rama VI’s residence in Petchaburi.

After the war Siam became a founding member of the League of Nations, a precursor to the United Nations. Its involvement was a key step towards overcoming unfair treaties that limited its commercial and legal autonomy.

This was perhaps its most significant reward for having entered the war, a conflict that posed no direct threat to the country. Germany’s closest colonies were still very far away, in the Pacific.

Participating in the war, though, strengthened Siam’s international position – and also the monarchy’s domestic esteem.

The Boston Journal’s headlines reads “Hundreds of lives lost on the torpedoed Lusitania”

Though it had maintained its independence from European colonial powers, Siam had been forced between 1889 and 1909 to cede territory to them in Laos and Cambodia along with its four southernmost provinces. Rama VI believed that siding with the Allies in the war would result in better treaty terms for Siam.

The war also became for him a means to promote the concept of nationhood and to confirm his supremacy as head of state, which elements of the military had challenged in the Palace Revolt of 1912.

To the commitment to war we also owe the national flag as it’s known today. Rama VI had the former ensign – white elephant on red background – replaced in 1917.

The new design, with red, blue and white stripes, was said to signify creed, crown and community, subsuming representation of the military, but at the same time it flew comfortably alongside the flags of Serbia, Russia, France, Britain and the United States.

The new flag was first raised on September 28, 1917. Initially there were two common variants. As well as the five-banded version seen everywhere today, another kept the elephant on a red disc, superimposed over the new stripes. This one – still used by the Royal Thai Navy – flew over the Siamese Expeditionary Force when it marched in the 1918 victory parade in Paris.

Among the fascinating newspaper accounts available to read, there is the Boston Journal’s evocative May 7, 1915, story about the sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania by a German U-boat. The outrageous attack on civilians convinced many countries, including Siam, to commit troops to the allied cause.

The 15-minute silent film depicting Siamese soldiers training and participating in the Paris victory parade was distilled from hours of footage acquired under licence from an archive under French Ministry of Defence.

The exhibition has an old black-and-white photograph of the 22 July Circle in Bangkok’s Yaowarat area, showing the five roads radiating outward. Each of those streets used to have the word “peace” in its name, in honour of the peace that followed World War I.

A colour shot of the same location shows how much it’s changed since. The streets have different names now. But, even 100 years later, people still remember.

HISTORY LIVES ON

– The exhibition “Siam and the World War I Centenary” continues in the King Vajiravudh Memorial Hall, part of the National Library compound on Bangkok’s Samsen Road until September 30.

– The hall is open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 4.30pm. Admission is free.

– On the final day, from 2 to 6pm, a seminar will examine how the costumed wax statue of Rama VI was preserved for posterity.

BACK IN 2005, I couldn’t find a ticket for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” – the hottest Broadway show at that time – for love or money. My only chance was to arrive at the Circle in the Square two hours early and try my luck in its ticket lottery, which would provide 20 front row seats at US$20 (Bt700). It was my lucky day and my joy at landing a ticket added to the insight and entertainment I got from watching this ingenious work. And so when I heard that Bangkok Community Theatre (BCT) was planning a production, I was delighted.

“I too saw the show at Circle in the Square, my favourite Broadway theatre, and really loved it,” veteran director Michael Allman tells me.

“I chose to stage this show here because of its great characters, wonderful songs and the fact that I thought it’d fit well into the space at Creative Industries.

“I think it’s good for people who are not native speakers to know that even native speakers struggle with English,” he adds.

“We English speakers have picked up words from so many different languages and each one of those languages has its own spelling rules, so English is terribly confusing.

“And we’ll have a lovely Thai lady Chaichan “Kathy” Kamkom, who won the Nation Junior Spelling contest in 2016, as one of our guest spellers on the opening night. After that, we’ll recruit four audience members to join the actor spellers onstage and compete with them. Perhaps her example will help other students see that they can succeed in their English studies.”

Backstage of the contest, social and athletic boy scout Chip Tolentino and politically charged Logainne Shwartzandgrubenierre tease home schooler from a hippie family Leaf Coneybear. Photo/Sohtra Salman 

BCT’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is recommended for audiences 15 years of age and older.

“I feel that it’s a show about kids, but not really for kids. These students are trying to learn what it takes to be a success in life; that is, what it takes to be an independent, functioning adult. They all believe that winning the spelling bee will help them achieve that ambition but they haven’t figured out quite how it will help. Even the adults in the show haven’t quite figured out how to be ‘fully-functioning’ and they still have some growing to do,” Allman explains.

Taking advantage of the fully flexible black box space, the show will put the audience on three sides of the stage in the thrust stage configuration.

“The contests are mostly inner battles that are resolved at the microphone. The contestants find their strengths and weaknesses at the mic and either go on to another round or are eliminated. Then there is a space for the judges, who have their own inner battles and another space for the contestants to wait, where they learn more about themselves and one another. The audience is seated on risers so it really focuses all the attention on the stage. When contestants lose they are cast out of the arena but audience members who join the contest can return to their seats of course.”

Which kid is the best speller? No, not that one on the left. Photo/Sohtra Salman 

The book for this musical won a Tony Award and for this Bangkok production, Allman says, “We did tone down a bit of the language. You can say almost anything in New York without offending people but in others cities it’s best to be a bit more careful. We didn’t want to destroy any of the meaning of the show and I believe we’ve been true to the spirit.

We didn’t change anything besides that.”

The cast comprises American, Filipino, British expats and Thai nationals. “Because this is a musical and the ranges for the characters are very specific, our musical director Preeyakit ‘Fox’ Buranasin and I had to cast within those parameters,” Allman explains.

“Truly I can’t imagine a cast more appropriate to the roles in this show. Between their natural abilities and what they have brought to the roles, they are all giving excellent performances.”

And as for the fact that many of them are portraying characters much younger than they are, Allman says, “I haven’t really had to focus on directing the actors to act younger than their actual ages because they’re are doing very well at that by themselves. One of my acting teachers did give us some excellent advice on the subject though. She said that to act younger what you needed to do was to ‘take away experience’.”

“For this show Fox and I decided to use backing tracks. I’ve had experience of directing a musical using backing tracks and was a little leery of the idea but the tracks we have are excellent and we have a program that is allowing us to modify the tracks so that we can do anything that we could do with a live orchestra.

The technology is now very advanced.”

Allman says this show is “like ‘bottled joy’.

It’s so funny, energetic, perceptive and joyful. Yes, it’s about |these anxiety ridden-kids, but |the amount of pure fun that |the authors got out of writing about these characters is truly infectious. And like the best of musicals the fun just keeps building—the whole is definitely more than the sum of the parts.”

Don’t bring your dictionary

BCT’s “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is at Creative Industries, on second floor of M Theatre on New Phetchaburi Road between Thonglor and Ekamai on September 29 and 30 and October 6 and 7 at 7.30pm. There’s also 2pm show on October 7.

Tickets are Bt 850 at Bangkok.OnePlace.events/theatre.

Find out more at http://www.BangkokCommunity Theatre.com or email Info@ Bangkok CommunityTheatre.com.

Looking back on episodes in life as a way to guide mindfulness, Jiratchaya decided to confront her plight by stepping into the discomfort then letting go and forgiving herself and others.

Dark black lines and weights cutting through white pure spaces in different shapes and forms will allow viewers to unfurl their imagination alongside the artist on the liberation of the emancipated mind.

The gallery, which is open Monday to Saturday from 11 to 6, is at 72/3 Aree 5 North, Soi Phahonyothin 7, Phahonyothin Road, Phyathai. For more information, call (02) 617 2794, or visit www.gallerynumthong.com or www.facebook.com/NumthongGalleryAtAree.

This is Anuar’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery and an extension of his recent solo feature in VOLTA New York earlier this year.  Anuar continues to expand on his New York feature of the same title through clusters of anthropomorphic panel pieces evocative of masks. Displayed as free-standing sculptures and wall mounted pieces, the works come together collectively as an immersive installation.

A novice mask collector himself, Anuar first encountered tribal masks through his travels. Having further invested in this interest, the plethora of ceremonial and tribal masks made available internationally through the internet reminded him of the movements and dissemination of seeds, scattered across the globe by the migration of birds.

He places emphasis on the translation of cultural artefacts into currency through a lush green landscape backdrop captured in Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur.

This is reminiscent of the artist’s encounter with an eco-tourism campaign of his homeland in Central London during his student days. The familiar visual of lush forestry set against a foreign and displaced environment sparked the idea of the “tourist gaze”, a by-product of commercial tourism posters disseminated for promotion of a country, and how this is being consumed. The panel pieces are the artist’s idea of pixelated Dayak and Iban masks as a result of fictitious movement and the upload and download of these images through online trade portals.

The series is accompanied by irregular silhouettes of wooden sculptures made up of conjoined souvenir ready-mades, with their surfaces painted over and sanded down.

Find out more at www.rkfineart.com

WITH THE people of Thailand preparing to bid a final farewell to His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej next month, the Kitarat Foundation is joining venues around the country in celebrating the much-loved monarch’s musical and artistic talent with the exhibition, “Music & Art from the Land of Prosperity”.

Part of “The Royal Legacy – 365 Days of Remembrance” project, the exhibition at the Quartier Gallery features oils by 19 artists inspired by 19 of the late King’s musical compositions.

Widsanupong Noonan, who exhibits in Singapore and Taiwan as well as at home, has take the song “Waeo” (“Echo”), considered the King’s most charming.

“This English name of this song brought to mind the sound you hear when you lift a conch shell to your ear. I remember trying this as a kid – holding the conch shell up to my ear and hearing the sound of the ocean. And the conch shell also reminds me of a wedding ceremony, which goes well with the lines ‘Though time is unforgiving, I know, our love will linger on for eternity.’ The woman in this painting represents both the wedding ceremony and love,” says the Nakhon Pathom-born artist, who is best known for his realistic figurative paintings of the fairer sex.

“This is first time I have used oils on fibreglass rather than canvas and mixed in a sculpture of this conch shell. The mood in the painting changes depending on where it is placed, which gives it spirit.”

Artist Suriya Namwong, who has a store at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bangkok and created “The Chronicle of the Land” for Phra Maha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi’s Rai Chern Tawan Meditation Centre in Chiang Rai, worked from the 1954 waltz “Lom Nao” (“Love in Spring”).

“HM the late King composed this song and performed it for the first time a week before Valentine’s Day. It’s about love that’s so happy that it makes us feel everything around us is beautiful. When I listen to the song, I feel like the King is still with us. It also made me think of my first love, of long hair blowing in the wind as birds soar and dip all around. In fact, the woman in the painting is not my first love but a beautiful icon symbolising love. The expression in her smiling face and eyes is very important,” says the Roi-Et-born artist.

Thanarit Thipwaree, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University, has interpreted 1959’s “Fun” (“Dream”), the first song on which the King experimented with Western sounds.

“I think dreams and reality are one and the same. All that separates them is the situation. When a dream comes true, it disappears. Every dream becomes reality. My two paintings show the dark and bright sides of a girl’s face. The dark side looks scary but the image is sharp – a clear black rose against a blurred pink rose on the other side, the hunter versus the hunted. The dark side represents sympathy while the happy side is deceitful. I painted on linen, which is considered the finest fabric in the world. It gives more feeling than canvas calico,” he explains.

Chiang Rai-based artist Songdej Thipthong is best known for his Buddhist art and has stuck to this style in interpreting “Thewa Pha Khu Fun” (“Dream of Love, Dream of You”).

“It’s a sad song yet it makes us feel hopeful and happy. My interpretation is dreamlike, like praying for love from a deity, I used acrylic colours with gold leaf in the traditional Thai style,” says Songdej, who is currently painting murals at Wat Suthiwararam.

Surin-born Phet Cherdklin has been associated with elephants since his childhood and these magnificent beasts have influenced his painting. He says this new painting, inspired by the royal song “Paendin Khong Rao” (“Alexandra”), has the same concept as his “Paendin Siam”.

“The lyrics of the song talk about our country’s prosperity, beauty and values. My interpretation is based on three institutions – the nation, the religion and the monarchy. I interpret the nation through a map of Thailand, the religion with temples and castles, and the monarchy with parts of a palace and Garuda. It’s easy to understand,” he says.

Thongchai Srisukprasert , who created the much-admired painting inspired by the late monarch’s composition “Klai Rung” on his 88th birthday, now interprets s “Chata Cheewit” (“Hungry Men’s Blues”).

“The Thai name of the song is sad – it literally translates as “the destiny of life”. It is like our destiny without HM the late King. We are flying alone without the one who always encouraged us at our side. I believe every Thai felt this way after the death of the King. One verse of the song talks about a bird flying alone, while another verse is about a moon symbolising the King’s birthday and a rabbit representing his Chinese zodiac sign. I compare the moon to the king who shone the light on his people and use the bird’s eye to indicate that the golden earth is full of many royal projects such as Royal Irrigation Development and Royal Rain Project,” says Thongchai.

Other artists taking part in the show are Rearngsak Boonyavanishkul with “Saeng Thian” (“Candlelight Blues”), Sa-ngiam Yarangsee with “Yam Yen” (“Love at Sundown”), Preecha Thaothong with “Sai Fon” (“Falling Rain”), Ekachai Luadsoongern with “Klai Rung” (“Near Dawn”), Pornchai Chaima with “Phon Pi Mai” (“New Year Greetings”), Likit Nisetanakarn with “Yam Kam” (“Twilight”), Lampu Kansanoh with “Yim Su” (“Smiles”), Arnan Ratchawang-inn with “Kham Laeo” (“Lullaby”), Surasit Saokong with “Saeng Duean” (“Magic Beams”), Theekawut Boonvijit with “Phirom Rak” (“A Love Story”), Nitikorn Kraivixien with “Nai Duang Chai Niran” (“Still on My Mind”), Surathin Tatana with “Kwam Fun An Sungsud” (“The Noblest Dream”), and Nipon Jungkina with “Rao Su” (“We Shall Fight”).

The opening of the show featured Assistant Professor Dr Pathorn Srikanon, a member of Au Sau Wan Suk Royal Musical Band, accompanying a live painting demonstration led by Preecha Thaothong and Chalermchai Kositpipat.

This event is like sending our king off to heaven,” Dr Pathorn told XP.

TRIBUTE TO TALENT

– “Music & Art from the Land of Prosperity” continues at Quartier Gallery on the M floor of The EmQuartier Shopping Complex through September 24.

– The shopping centre is open daily from 10am to 9pm.

– Follow information and activities at http://www.Facebook.com/KitaratFoundation.

The Embassy of Portugal and Portuguese Cultural Centre in Bangkok are presenting the show of works that illuminate Rita Gomes’ observations on the absurdities of life. She’s sometimes angry, but always brutally honest.

Born in 1988 in Porto, Gomes is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Lisbon. She has always experimented with different media and formats, but scribbled words and phrases have been her main focus.

This exhibition focuses on her work on paper – doodles of what she may or may not have been feeling at a given moment, coming at the viewer with a seemingly artless air.

In all of these works, she calls attention to the flaws and affectations of mainstream culture with words and images that beckon the viewer to enjoy the liberating power of a good laugh.

The WTF Cafe is on Sukhumvit Soi 51 near the Thonglor BTS station. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday from 4 to 10pm.

Admission is free. Find out more at http://www.WTFBangkok.com.

That’s all about to change thanks to an exhibitions of calligraphic works by Jamyang Dorjee Chakrishar, a Sikkimese artist who holds the world record for creating the longest calligraphy scroll, using handmade Tibetan lokta paper measuring 163 metres, showing at Serindia Gallery until the end of this month.

Chakrishar is a master of the tradition and has studied under great masters Geshe Lobsang Tharchin and Professor Samdhong Rinpoche.

His work focuses on the u-med style where brushworks are exhibited freely representing the depth, flexibility and artistic flavour of the Tibetan calligraphy. His other innovation is the depiction of Buddhist deities in miniature calligraphy. They are unique and much appreciated by all Buddhist masters including His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself.

“Yig-tsal”, as the exhibition is called, has been brought to Bangkok through the collaboration of the Paccaya Foundation.

Serindia Gallery is at OP Garden, Charoenkrung 36 (Near BTS SapanTaksin) and open Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm).

Find out more at (02) 238 6410 or email serindiagallery@gmail.com