It’s a boat! It’s a cocoon! Is it art?
A room full of artists, art lovers, and art skeptics celebrated SAN-STI – the first ever solo exhibition by local artist Tanika “Pook” Panyarachun at Eat Me Restaurant & Gallery on Oct. 2. Since she graduated with a joint major in art history and visual art from prestigious Brown University in the US two years ago, the young artist has moved back to Bangkok to pursue her career as an artist. SAN-STI is a Sanskrit term which translates as rendering (san) and consciousness (sti).
Pook told us how she began creating her yarn-wrapped boat structures that were exhibited in the show. “I found some yarn in this saffron color yarn at the recycling center in Providence, Rhode Island where I was studying. I was really drawn to the color. It was meaningful for me, obviously since I’m from Thailand, because it’s the color of [monk’s] robes. But the color is so striking for a lot of people. I believe that’s because it’s the color of sunlight, and as humans we are naturally attracted to a color that is associated with warmth.”
Big companies dump all the excess stuff they don’t use at recycling centers – germaphobes need not worry, it’s all new and un-used material. And that’s where Pook found the industrial buckets of yarn she used in the project.
“I experimented by wrapping the yarn around different structures. The first boat I made was a boat traditionally used by monks. That was part of my thesis show,” she said. Brown University purchased Pook’s artwork and it’s currently on display there – she said that the pieces on display at Eat Me were a continutation of her thesis.
“The boats symbolize the birth cycle. The fully threaded boats deconstructing with each piece reflects on life approaching death. The cocoons are like babies. The thread itself represents the thread of life holding everything together.”
Pook explained that the idea is also tied in with the Buddhist belief that a boat transports your soul across the river of temptation. It’s a universal message that we see in other cultures and mythology as well.
“It’s meditative because I’m sitting there for hours wrapping the thread. There’s a difference between painstaking and meditative. When it’s painstaking you don’t want to work and your mind is frustrated. As I worked on these boats I self, instead I was in a state of peace.”
For viewers looking at the work there were mixed responses. Some commented on how beautiful the shadows looked cast against the walls of Eat Me, the overall structural exhibition making the space feel like a real museum. Others were more skeptical about the work being anything close to art. When Mark H. showed up he walked right through the main part of the exhibit and joined a few of us at the outdoor patio. The first things that came out form his mouth was, “So where’s all the art?”
“Right behind you!” we said pointing towards the inside of the restaurant.
“Those are sailboats.”
“That’s the art.”
“Uh… ok. I thought it would be paintings.”
“It looks like mulberry that silkworms make their cocoons from,” was the neutral comment from our ever diplomatic friend, Joy S.
Pook didn’t mind a bit that people were confused at the legitimacy of her artwork. Some of her own family members searched for the art too, not realizing it was right above their heads. She said that it showed the pieces blended in with the restaurant, “I think it’s cool that it really complemented the interior. It means they will look good in other people homes too.”
Works from SAN-STI will be on display at Eat Me from Oc. 2 – Dec. 8 daily from 3pm to 1am. The restaurant/gallery is located next to the Carmelite Monastery on Convent Road near the Sala Daeng Sky Train Station.
—
SAN-STI by Tanika Panyarachun
Curated by Pan Pan Narkprasert
Eat Me Restaurant & Gallery
www.facebook.com/eatmerestaurant
www.eatmerestaurant.com
02-238-0931
