Mue Bon colours Siwilai Cafe
In the past month, the typically polished window displays of Central Embassy’s Siwilai retail store and café have been bombed — graffiti-bombed. There was a giant Mickey Mouse skull plastered on the main window, and instead of mannequins donning sleek and fashionable outfits, hung chaotically on the cracked and stained walls are painted-over termite exterminator signs, canvases with cute but serious-looking cartoon animals and small sculptures of the same animals in different predicaments.
Those who know a thing or two about street art may have recognised Mue Bon’s signature characters right away, but to those who don’t, the organised chaos of the display may seem like a confusing addition to the high-end shop.
“If you look at it from afar, it’s like, ‘What the hell is that?’,” said the artist. “Siwilai invited me to work on their window front. They probably wanted me to paint and stuff like that, but I saw that it’s a good opportunity for me to exhibit my works that I did in the streets for the past 10 years.”
As one of the first generation of street artists in Thailand, Mue Bon made a name for himself with his passionate and politically charged artworks. Using his signature symbols of the Mickey Mouse skull (to remind people of death and forget about petty concerns) as well as the flightless black bird (to remind people of the inequalities of society), his passionate use of art to create compelling dialogues has pushed him to become one of the most respected street artists in the country, and even abroad.
“I wanted to create a feeling of conflict,” he said. “Like you’re walking into a 5-star hotel and you walk past something that looks like Klong Toey. It’s a mess and it gives that atmosphere of chaos in the streets of Bangkok. I wanted that atmosphere from the 10 years that I’ve experienced, and I want to see that difference — that it shouldn’t be in there.”
Creating that contrast, Mue Bon exposes the general public to what street art is. It’s even more interesting to think that what was once considered vandalism has now been presented in a store whose name literally translates as “to be civilised”.
“It’s kind of like a symbol of acceptance,” he said. “That this culture has been accepted already. ‘To be civilised’ for me isn’t about money. Other countries do not measure their civility through their GDP or through their economy. But they measure through the value of art [and culture]. I want my art to talk to people. I never reject any street or road, I never reject any house, I never reject any community. If my art has an opportunity to talk to people, to make people think something, or to exchange knowledge, this is my goal. I just want to present my artworks to the world as much as possible. To tear down the wall between art and people to the point where it’s just a part of life.”
Some special pieces in the window display include Mue Bon’s painted-over termite-extermination signs. Going into neighbourhoods and taking down the signs, which have hung for more than three or four decades, Mue Bon painted scenes of his daily life on top of them to emphasise the normalisation of killing in society. Other interesting gimmicks include cookies in the shape of his blackbird character, and drinks with his signature Mickey Mouse skull floating on top.
“I want to tear down the barrier that’s separating people from art,” he said. “People say, ‘Art is so hard to understand. I don’t want to go to the gallery. It’s such a waste of time’. I understand that. If you go to the mall, you can shop, you can relax. It’s all in there and that’s done with. You don’t need to go to a gallery kilometres away, go into a 10m by 10m room with artworks that you don’t understand. Both of them aren’t wrong, but we have to find a link between those people. So it’s like me working on the streets is having people get a taste of art. And it’s literal in this sense. You can eat it? It’s not a billion baht? No. This is just another thing that can get people closer to art.”
“Artists have a responsibility to be a mirror, reflecting the light to ever-so slightly hit your eyes — but not to hurt you or make you sick.
“It’s to make you compose yourself and look at the things that affect you. Like, ‘Why is this happening in society? Is it because I don’t care? Is it because I don’t think about things?’.
“I have a gift that’s special, so I’m using my skills in order to present ideas to people who haven’t thought of certain things, to come back and think, walk forward, and find an answer together. My job isn’t higher than any other job. I’m not that great, but I’m just doing my role with integrity.”
Street artist Mue Bon has been tapped by Siwilai in Central Embassy to burnish their retail space with aesthetic grace STORY AND PHOTOS: APIPAR NORAPOOMPIPAT