Art is all around you
Chayapong Charuvastr's latest exhibition seeks the connection of man to the world at large
PUBLISHED : 1 OCT 2019 AT 04:00
NEWSPAPER SECTION: LIFE
WRITER: ARUSA PISUTHIPAN
Chayapong Charuvastr has some sort of special connection with neglected buildings and architectural structures. So whenever certain landmark constructions in Bangkok are torn down, his heart too is torn into pieces.
"It makes me sad to see all the beautiful old buildings being torn down, and replaced with big, lifeless, shiny glass buildings," said Chayapong.
"I personally feel Bangkok's visual landscape used to have a lot more soul and flavour, and now the city's visual landscape has lost a lot of its soul and become very diluted."
To underline the sense of connection, Chayapong and his artist friends Sumonrat Thapanavorakiat and May-T Noijinda are holding the exhibition, "528 Hz The Love Frequency", which is on view at Woof Pack until Sunday. Chayapong acknowledged that connection plays a very big role in his works and that even though the artworks on exhibit come from completely different places with different styles, they operate on the same engine.
With his educational and career background from the US, Chayapong said his works are largely influenced by Retro America, sign painting and antiquing. He usually finds inspiration from "neglected architectural gems" around the city. Bangkok, therefore, becomes the artist's living library.
Chayapong Charuvastr. Photo Courtesy of Chayapong Charuvastr
Chayapong discusses his current group exhibition and Bangkok's fading architectural landscape.
The exhibition is titled '528 Hz The Love Frequency'. What does that signify?
It's been proven that there's a specific frequency that connects everything together, from human DNA and plants to the universe. The idea is not to replicate and show exactly what 528Hz is, but to show how we as humans express the sense of connection to the world around us, even though sometimes we might not even understand why we feel a certain connection to certain things. Sometimes it's best to not look for the answer and just react to the feeling. Art is a powerful tool that allows us to reach into that dimension of our subconscious and allows us as humans to express our sense of connection to the world without any boundaries.
A number of artworks on show feature architectural elements. What do they represent?
Being from a big city like Bangkok, I was always drawn to buildings, especially the older dilapidated buildings around the city because that's just the visual landscape that I grew up with. During my time abroad in America, most of my good friends were local American kids with a very deep understanding of their cultural background, and are heavily rooted in that. Through them I learned to appreciate and understand the Retro American culture, sign painting, antiquing, traditional American tattooing, oldies and rock'n'roll music, etc. I also have good friends in Industrial Design and Architecture who taught me a lot about the mid-century culture and design movement that became a key visual for America in the 1950s to roughly around 1970s, and makes up the imagery Retro America.
After I moved back, I had a whole new understanding about myself and what I look for in my art. As I observed Bangkok, I realised that there are so many old apartment buildings, signs on the buildings, houses, and old theatres from the 1950s-1960s that were directly influenced by the mid-century design, and looked like they came straight from America but still have the Bangkok flavour to them, which really fascinated me when I realised there's a direct connection between Retro America and Retro Bangkok back in the 1950s to 1960s, not just in architecture, but in the overall culture. A lot of people says that 'retro' is trendy now, but the truth is it's been a part of the culture in this country for at least the past 40 years, we just forgot about it.
A lot of architectural beauty in Bangkok has been destroyed during the past years and turned into profitable properties. What's your take on this issue?
I do understand the business side of things, and the city has to grow and develop as time goes on. It is what it is. But my hope is that people/developers will pay more attention to putting these old, neglected architectural gems to good use instead of destroying them, which in fact has been happening a lot more nowadays, and I think that is a beautiful thing and hope that it will keep happening more and more. Bangkok has a unique flavour to it that a lot of the cities around the world don't have. People are able to look at the older buildings in Bangkok and say, 'That is so Bangkok'.
As an artist, what kind of message that you want to send across to your audience through your art pieces?
The way I look at this is, my art has a life of its own. It grows on its own, and it communicates on its own. I'm only laying down the solid foundation of how it's supposed to make you feel. How each of my pieces communicate with audiences is entirely based on the connection they make with the piece, how it makes them feel a certain way or how it triggered a certain memory in their head whether it's good or bad. They start to form their own story and feeling based on the connection they're making with my art and create their own stories through personal experiences, and that is something that is completely beyond my control; and it is the most beautiful thing.
Which one is your favourite piece in '528 Hz' and why?
Untitled 8, the solo balcony. Out of all the works that I've done with this series since the beginning, this piece has the most significant meaning to me. Even though it might be one of the simplest pieces I've done, there are many layers to it. It means a lot to me in many ways.
On the left is Chayapong's favourite piece, Untitled 8. Chanat Katanyu
'528 Hz The Love Frequency' runs until Sunday at Woof Pack, Sala Daeng 1.
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