United in prayer

Five times a day, young Muslim artist Thidarat Chantachua bows towards Mecca as she prays alone in a private room. In her imaginary world, though, the 23-year-old artist brings together three Muslim ladies praying in the same private room – the subject matter for her monochrome painting “Jamaah 2” which recently 

 beat works by more than 20 other finalists to win Thailand’s United Overseas Bank ainting of the Year contest

The theme of Thidarat’s painting is unity and her medium white thread embroidered on a black canvas. At first glance, the painting appears to centre on the three Muslim ladies at their prayers but look closely and you can see thousands of geometric Islamic motifs embroidered in the backdrop. This technique creates texture and adds an in-depth perspective to the work.

“Jamaah 2” won the hearts of the jury from Silpakorn University where Thidirat, a student at the Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts faculty, is working towards her master’s degree.

Thidarat says her artwork focuses on how people with different backgrounds, lives and opinions come together to find peace in spirituality.

“Seeing the world struggle to find peace has motivated me to create this painting. I am touched when I see a community united in prayer. The setting is an ordinary, empty room, signifying that one can pray anywhere, not just in a place of worship. Through my painting I want to demonstrate that there is strength in unity,” she explains. 

“I first sketched this picture on the computer, then retouched it using Photoshop. After that I embroidered the canvas. It took two weeks to complete,” says Thidarat. 

In addition to taking home a Bt750,000 cash prize, Thidarat will join the regional UOB Painting of the Year competition in Singapore on November 4 where she will face the winners from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore . She also stands a chance to win a one-month residency programme at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan.

Joining her Singapore is Napat Kangwannarakul, who landed first prize in the emerging artist category with her colourful paper cutting titled “Body and Mind, Change of Mind”. The painting symbolises the human mind in which the vice and virtue often intertwines. Napat went home with Bt90,000. 

Peter Foo, president and chief executive of UOB (Thai), noted that the UOB Painting of the Year competition is the bank’s way of supporting talented and passionate Thai artists.

“We have been organising the UOB Painting of the Year competition in Thailand for six consecutive years and are pleased to see that the competition continues to draw out emerging talents and encourage established artists to push their creative boundaries,” Foo said.

Other winners include established artists are Jakgrid Mooninta who won the gold award for his landscape painting “Peaceful Lanna”. The silver and bronze awards went to Paisarn Pirussaw’s “Worshipping the Sarira” and Pairin Pupradup’s “Wind-up Toys” respectively.

The gold prize in the emerging artist category went to Ananyot Jannual’s “Poor Duck with Piyangkul Jantarakul’s “Corner Where that Old Guy Sells Kanohm Jeen Feb’15” and Jakkapong Thepkoa’s “Relativity of Life 1” picking up the runners-up awards.

The jury is comprised of members of Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts. They include national artists Professor Preecha Thaothong and Vichoke Mukdamanee plus the current dean Amrit Chusuwan.

 

 

See and admire

The winning paintings of the 2015 UOB Painting of the Year competition will be exhibited at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre until October 31.

The winning works are on display at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre until the end of this month.