Where the walls have ears

Street art reaches new heights at the latest edition of SangSom MOVEaBAR tomorrow as those people who love to party find themselves surrounded with art.
    It’s a follow-up to December’s successful MOVEaBAR at Parc Paragon, with ThaiBev again the host for an event featuring lots of music and drinking, stalls that sell handmade and second-hand goods – and the newly noble street art.
    “I can see that street art and graffiti are more accepted in Thailand now,” says Anapat Kongsagulthawoen, the graffiti artist known as ONG. “There are a lot of artists that really stand out with their signature styles. And, in the past couple of years, street art is not only seen along streets and ghettos – some of us have proved that it’s also worthy of galleries and proper art exhibitions.”
    The 25-year-old from Samut Sakhon has always been involved in the arts and design, but only got into graffiti a couple of years ago. “A few friends and I first tried our hands at graffiti on the Hopewell pillars, back before the demolition started and it was such a cool space to express yourself,” he says, referring to the massive concrete supports erected for a now-abandoned elevated railway.
“I didn’t know anything about graffiti, but over time I slowly learned the techniques and became hooked on its freshness – you get inspired to do a lot of different things, and you get to hang with like-minded people.”
So, graffiti in an art gallery: Obviously we’re not talking about rude words in crude scrawls across the brickwork. Thanks to the international fame of the late American alley cat Jean-Michel Basquiat and England’s mysterious Banksy, graffiti has an entirely different face these days.
The guys in Bangkok take their cues from the coolest purveyors of aerosol art in the world. It’s often freeform painting, frequently bizarre, occasionally highly conceptual and always fun to look at. Some people even find it inspirational. It regularly carries thoughts and messages about social issues, so it becomes part of the community conversation.
    The first “gig” for ONG and his pals was the wall of a gas station on Lat Phrao Soi 71. “We didn’t really know how it worked,” he laughs, recalling their nervousness over trespassing and vandalism. “So we went and asked for permission, and we got the green light to do it.
“We spent a whole day painting that wall, with the soi kids and even motorcycle cops swooping around to check us out. But people in the neighbourhood liked it because it made the soi look better and added something nice to look at.”
    The city is a massive blank canvas for these guys. They cruise around looking for likely spots to decorate. Occasionally they’re actually commissioned to paint private houses, restaurants and bars. So it feels natural that ONG and the rest – guys like October29, DBT, CAS, Zrim, Floyd, Dark One, Mamacup711, Mamablues, Shittak, ANL TMC, Bonus TMC, 21Card Baddogs, the Whaleswatcher – are enjoying a little star-shine.
At tomorrow’s party ONG and four others will be wielding the spray cans while musicians Hugo, Palmy, Apartment Khunpa, Sqweeze Animal and many others perform.
“You’ve got to give credit to the late Mamafaka and those people in the early days that paved the way for street art in Thailand,” ONG says. “It’s still something new in Thailand, but things are changing. We have more venues and platforms to show our work and street art is getting popular in other major cities, all over Thailand, not just Bangkok.”

Music and messages

Head to SangSom MOVEaBAR tomorrow at Jarun Burapharat Field, near the Makkasan Airport train station. It runs from 5pm until late.
Advance passes cost Bt399 at Thai Ticket Major and Zaaparty. Call (088) 676 7673. There might still be some passes available at the door for Bt499.
SangSom MOVEaBAR rolls on to Khon Kaen on May 17, Chiang Mai on May 30 and Hat Yai and Korat in June.
Get all the details at www.Facebook.com/SangSomExperience.