Out front, dipped in pink neon, the words “SEX SHOP” indicated that Bangkok had a new downtown purveyor of taboo products.
Inside, there were paintings of a figure in a cop hat nibbling on the balls of a large penis. Another depicted a naked man sitting in deep thought atop a toilet with his orange underwear down to his ankles and holding a red-hot telephone with one of his four arms.
A large painting in the middle featured five women clad in bondage gear, holding paddle boards and a leather flail.
Instead of a sex shop, visitors found a provocative exhibition at what was actually an art gallery with a positive message on sex and sexual health.
Following its “Kinky BKK” opening, Pulse Gallery’s new Phloen Chit location, which also contains a sexual health clinic, is now hosting an exhibition aimed at eradicating the stigma surrounding HIV and embracing body-positive attitudes.
Opening Friday, the new exhibition features colorful stick puppets posed in different sexual positions, some with multiple partners, inside transparent orbs. Another figure represents an imagined goddess inspired by Latin American deities.
The PrEPtaca Exhibition – The Goddess of Health and Wisdom by Bogotan artist and puppeteer Nicolas Bernal aims to “demystify sexual health controls” and open up discussion about a topic Thailand tends to shy away from.
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is treatment to reduce the chance of contracting HIV from sex or drug use. The exhibition runs until Nov. 25.
These are the types of exhibitions and topics to expect at Pulse Gallery, which already has branches in Silom, Nana, Phrom Phong, and Phaya Thai. The Phloen Chit location opened just last month.
With its galleries, wellness brand EU Health and Wellness Medical Center seeks to normalize attitudes toward sexuality, highlight the importance of sexual health, and remove stigmas associated with the LGBTQ+ community.
“It is sad that people die from some things that are preventable,” owner and physician Natthaket “Daeyn” Yaemim told Coconuts. “And it is sad that they die because of ignorant, shame, fear, that somebody else put in them. It is sad that people cannot be who they want to be and live their lives how they wish because of social factors.”
Serving as an art space on the first floor, expect kinky art and topics related to sexual health. Customers interested in any of the sensual works can buy them. They can also enjoy a cuppa at its cafe.
On the second floor is one of the company’s sexual health clinics, where patrions can get checkups, STI tests, and other services.
FIND IT
Pulse Gallery – Phloen Chit
9am-6pm, daily
Mahatun Plaza Building, Lumphini, Pathum Wan
