TAKE A WALK WITH MAMUANG
Trendy Gallery’s latest exhibition features a character who will be instantly recognisable to Thai manga fans. That big-eyed girl with brown hair in a yellow dress is none other than Mamuang, the adorable comic book creation of Thai cartoonist Wisut Ponnimit. “Mamuang Walk” gives fans of the character an opportunity to see original paintings and sculptures until March 1.
Wisut started his career as a cartoonist in 1998 while he was still at Silpakorn University, with the publication of his comic book series HeSheIt in the magazine Manga Katch. Between 2003 and 2005, while studying in Japan, Wisut worked as an artist for the publishing companies Shinchosha and Shogakukan. His simple, raw drawing style and distinctive storylines drew widespread praise.
Mamuang (“mango” in Thai) was first introduced to readers in the manga serial Everybody everything published in Magazine 5 in Japan in 2005. The series also featured Mamuang’s white dog Manao and an old man called Uncle Linyai. The comic proved very popular among Japanese readers due to its old school drawings and simple stories about happiness.
Everybodyeverything was subsequently translated into Thai and soon proved a big hit here as well. Mamuang has gone on to become so popular that she has been used to endorse such brands as Anello Bag, Meiji and Erb. In addition to his comic book work, Wisut has also been producing the online animated series, Short Short
Story By Wisut Ponnimit, since 2009.