TAKING IT TO THE STREETS
Bangkok artist MUEBON makes art that enriches the community
In the past two months, Sathon’s Bangkok CityCity Gallery played host to “SOS” — a series of large-scale installations, original paintings and video installations by members of street-art troupe Souled Out Studios. Turning the white box gallery into a vibrant and stimulating mini-cityscape, artists Alex Face, AMP, Beejoir, Candice Tripp, Gong, Gus, Jace, Lucas Price, Mau Mau and MUEBON explored the complex nature of “community” by highlighting environmental, social and economic crises within society in their art.
MUEBON, in particular, took it to another level. Sitting outside his installation room on a pile of rubble was a black bird with Marcel Duchamp’s urinal between its legs. Inside was a Lego house; numerous drawings by children; a picture of a sick pigeon; and, projected on the wall, a livestream of a temporary gallery he built in a rundown community called the Platong Flat Projects (explained in another video installation on the outside wall).
Marketed aggressively throughout the 1980s as luxury estates, the Platong Flats, now called the Rangsit City Village, have become nothing more than a slum.
“I didn’t talk [directly] about the problems of the community,” he said. “But if people come to see my artwork, they’ll see the problem. They’ll think, ‘What? I thought the Platong Flat was a luxurious place. It’s not. It’s a slum. It’s abandoned’. They were sold a dream.”
Entering the dysfunctional and abandoned community to create a functional gallery, MUEBON, whose passion lies in social commentary and the power of media, ended up inspiring the area’s children in ways he never thought possible.
“At first I didn’t intend to help the children,” he said. “But the only people who were interested in art were the children. And our children are our future. They’re more open to learning things than
MUEBON ended up inspiring the area’s children in ways he never thought possible
adults. They’re ready to change. If I can make them imagine a brighter future, it’s easier than changing adults of the present.”
Getting their attention by taking photographs of them and hanging those on the walls of his makeshift gallery, the space quickly turned into an assembly point for people — especially kids — to meet, talk and create art under the guidance of MUEBON and his team. The workshops and activities lasted seven weeks.
“Some kids got to realise what they like and what they want to do,” he said. “It’s not only about arts. Some kids might want to be a doctor, so they’ll draw things related to that. When you ask them, they’ll explain to you, and it’s a moment when art is helping them find themselves.”
As one of the first generation of graffiti artists in Thailand, who’s sprayed for more than 20 years, BON made a name for himself with his passionate and politically charged street art — usually with his signature character of a black bird. The bird, never depicted flying, symbolises that not all humans are equal, like how not all birds can fly. Now a recognised artist all over the world, BON decided to change his strategy in spraying, hoping to use his skills in even more beneficial ways.
“Some of the kids are in gangs, so we try to find a way to get through to them,” he said. “‘You want to spray your school name? Here’s a better way to do it. I have someone I know that’s awesome’. So I’ll bring in the artists and the kids will understand the steps for an artist to create a sketch.
“I let the children see these steps, and most importantly, they’ll see their future. I show them in my books where I sprayed all over the world. My work took me all over the world because I’ve focused on art since I was young. There’s one child trying to get close to me because he wants a mentor. So I feel that at least I get to see a kid that’s really determined, while the other 30-40 kids are having fun colouring.
“I don’t bring my ego there at all,” he adds. “I go there thinking, ‘What should I do in order for you to understand art?’. I try to exchange art with the actual society. These kids were sold dreams from adults, and why should they keep living this dream?”