Pillars of shame to go

Pillars of shame to go

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Pillars of shame to go

They're known, sarcastically, as Bangkok's Stonehenge. The abandoned Hopewell pillars have graced _ or disgraced _ our north-bound highway like shameful, or shameless, monuments that everybody wishes to forget. These unused pillars stand awkwardly to remind us, souvenirs of failure and corruption over the past 20 years.

But in a month this hopeless Hopewell leftover will soon become history.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) recently signed a 21.2 billion baht deal with Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) to build the Red Line electric rail section from Bang Sue to Rangsit. Over 500 concrete structures will be demolished within 30 to 45 days. According to the report, the Bang Sue-Rangsit link is expected be completed in three years.

On and around these structures, unknown artists _ those who straddle the fine line between art and vandalism _ have found their canvases. Cutting-edge graffiti artists have spray-painted comic images, satirical quotes and abstract patterns, and they help add a vibe of urban discontentment to these unfortunate ruins. Some of these images are professionally created, and even deserve a showcase in museums or art galleries.One of the lettered creations reads: "Carcasses of the cheating culture." The illegal nature of graffiti does its social service by reminding us of another, bigger, more detrimental illegality.

Soon this graffiti will disappear with the demolition work. Our photographer recently went to Hopewell Stonehenge to document the highlights of this colourful street art.

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