Swimming In Her Dreams by Ladakorn Pungbubpha
WHITE ELEPHANT PRIZE WINNER „ ETCHING
Ladakorn is a graduate student from the Faculty of Painting Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University. Swimming In Her Dreams is an etching she created for her thesis titled “The Imagery Of My Mother Together With My Imagination”.
“I created many sketches for my thesis. However, when I saw that the theme of the White Elephant competition was ‘Dream,’ I thought my thesis which focuses on fantasy was appropriate for the competition,” said Ladakorn.
Ladakorn is influenced by surreal artist Jaco Putker and horror manga artist, Junji Ito, so Swimming In Her Dreams features surrealism with the use of bizarre and symbolic objects and a dreamlike atmosphere. The young artist explained that Swimming In Her Dreams was inspired by the imaginings of her mother and herself.
“I live with my 96-year-old mother who sometimes visualises things. For example, one rainy day, my mother walked around the house at night. She told me there were many snails eating our house. So, I asked her to draw pictures for me and I developed them into sketches and later into etching pieces,” said Ladakorn.
Swimming In Her Dreams depicts a greenhouse that looks like a comfy living space but it features bizarre objects such as a flying whale and multicoloured mushrooms with big eyes.
“This artwork represents my mother’s imagination which inspired me to create art. Many objects signify my mother and me. The two moons mean my mother and I can see each other each day and night. Meanwhile, the mushrooms represent me since I was an orphan and adopted by my mother. I compare myself to mushrooms that grow from spores that fell into fertile
soil. This is similar to how my mother adopted me and has taken care of me with love. The eyes on the mushrooms signify my eyes that keep watch on my mother. Whatever ideas she expresses, I am the one who understands,” explained Ladakorn.
After winning 1 million baht in prize money, Ladakorn dreams of running a small printmaking studio, so she can continually work on art.
“I hope I can arrange workshops for people interested in art. My mother likes to garden, so I am thinking of creating natural colours from plants and flowers as well as recycled handmade paper. I made paper from fabrics taken from my mother’s old clothes and it looks intriguing since it includes personal items,” said Ladakorn.
Each artist has a different purpose for creating art. As an artist and a daughter, Ladakorn works on art in order to stay close to her mother.
“Since my mother is now 96 and has a limited number of years left, I want to create art based on her stories and I do it for the relationship between my mother and me,” said Ladakorn.
AFTER LEARNING THE RESULT, I FELT OVERWHELMED AND BROKE DOWN IN TEARS