TERDTANWA KANAMA
With his interest in environmental problems, Terdtanwa tackled some issues in his previous exhibitions by creating work from waste materials and plastic. In “Celebration”, he confronted issues about air pollution and wildfires, by using a legend that they were predicted by Buddha.
“I read books about the life of Buddha and I found some of the contents were similar to some science subjects, so I linked the prophecy and science. I decided to tell stories about the apocalypse. In a prophecy by Buddha, the apocalypse is a period when religion collapses and environmental degradation increases. The Earth explodes after the Sun gets enlarged and consumes the Earth. Some science books also mention the Sun exploding,” Terdtanwa explained.
Most of his paintings are in warm colours because red and orange are a preference. His collections are vivid, bright and exciting. Yet his favourite painting of the set, The Great Fire Of
Himmapan1, features cold colours. “We had to create connections when we worked on a duo exhibition. Arunsak’s paintings depict lots of nature, so this painting has composition of trees, flowers and streams. I live very close to a field, so I am used to nature,” he said.
The artist has wide range of interests making for intriguing characters in his paintings. The characters were inspired by literature and have influences from graffiti and comics from several countries.
“I’m interested in comics by artists in Asia, especially from Japan and Indonesia. Takashi Murakami and James Jean are some of my favourite Japanese artists. Japanese comics are distinctive. I’m into Indonesia comics because they have many about fables and myths. For traditional Thai painting, I like classical works by royal craftsman at Phutthaisawan Temple the most,” said Terdtanwa.
A prophecy Terdtanwa read claims that at the end of apocalypse, a fire will roar across the Earth. Then, there will be a flood, and finally a huge wind will blow everything to mix them together and create new world.
“I quite believe in the prophecy, but I don’t think there will be natural disaster like it says. I think everything will turn around to reach the beginning again. I want my collection to speak about environmental problems and encourage people to be interested in impacts on the environment,” said Terdtanwa.