Welcome!
I am a Teacher of Art currently living in Hong Kong. I have spent the last 5 years living and teaching in Bangkok, Thailand. This blog is to document my own work, what my students get up to and the art I see around Hong Kong, Thailand… and beyond!
NAKHON PATHOM & WOODLAND
This weekend I travelled to a province just adjacent to Bangkok - Nakhon Pathom. This a peaceful and green area where the water hyacinth-filled Tha Chin river flows through and visitors can stay right on the riverbanks to enjoy the cool breeze and stunning sunrises and sunsets. Just down the road from where we stayed, we stumbled upon a HUGE museum - Woodland Museum - and inside we found an impressive collection wooden sculptures and carvings that were once the private collection of the Thewphaingarm family. The museum takes you on a tour around the religions and cultures of South East Asia through wooden sculpture and is set in a beautiful garden right on the Tha Chin river. This would be a fantastic place to kick start an art topic or project, with endless drawing and photography opportunities (especially with their dramatic lighting!).
EXPLORING KHLONG SAN & BKK ART BIENNALE
Today saw me exploring a new part of Bangkok for the first time - Khlong San, on the West of the Chao Phraya river. This area is seeped in Chinese history, which you can see all around you when wandering around. At the moment, there is a city wide Art Biennale, titled ‘Escape Routes’ featuring Artists from the world over. To see some of the work, I made my way to Lhong 1919, an area of reclaimed Chinese warehouses. These are some of my photos from the day, I was particularly taken by the preserved paintings on the walls, such as this great little bird photographed here. In the Biennale, I was intrigued by the work of Bangladeshi Artist - Farhana Islam Tani - whose work focuses on gender equality. Her video installation was projected through textured film and shards of mirror, making for a fragmented and fragile piece of art.
HELLO
This year sees me commencing my Art teaching qualification through the UK based Straight to Teaching program. I thought to myself that it would be a great time to start documenting my work, what the students get up to and the art I see around Thailand! So here it goes…
I begin with this somewhat surreal image of a mid Coronavirus Christmas on Ko Phayam in the South East of Thailand. Underneath, is an amazing sculpture (bar!) crafted from nothing but washed up driftwood & nails.
