Berlin to Bangkok, every block a story
The latest artworks of Orawan Arunrak, on view in the exhibition “Counting” at the Bangkok CityCity Gallery until August 25, requires viewers to try and assimilate the rhythmic pattern of her life.
Blessed with an observant eye, Orawan is a self-described wayfarer who collects anecdotes from everyone she meets. Since 2016 her life has shifted between Bangkok and Berlin, and in each place, conversations and observations evolve into sketches.
“Unlike an arranged interview, an organic exchange between the artist and passers-by offers more room, a drift to wider observation of the surroundings – in other words, a social illustration of city dwellers,” the gallery says in its press release.
“Her artistic language manoeuvres in the careful lines, mellow colour and soft words, constructs multiples trails of reading, and slowly morphs into a silhouette of her own body.”
“Counting” features prefabricated concrete blocks that serve to delineate a “transitional space” holding stories ready to find and collect.
“The act of counting is a meditation, a slow discovery – from the artist to the viewer, from the footpath to the gallery. Her artwork is like a communication between softness of drawing and roughness of concrete. It also resembles how kids often play and draw on the street.”
The Bangkok CityCity Gallery is on Sathorn Soi 1 near the MRT Lumpini station. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday, daily from 1 to 7pm.
Call (683) 087 2725.
