The Absolut Artelier project in Thailand came to a close last week with Shy Limanon as its last art ambassador.
Shy Limanon's works.
Starting last December with graphic, lighting and installation artist Pongpassakorn Kulthirathum, who is better known as Kob Kor.Bor.Vor, and a few months later with illustrator Pomme Chan, Absolut gave local creative figures a platform to express themselves. By working with the vodka brand whose history has always been tied to the arts, the artists had a chance to choose their own locales, as well as mediums, and turn them into whatever their artistic hearts desired. Pongpassakorn worked with the abandoned floor of a posh building, while Pomme chose a garden by the river to unleash her sweetness.
Shy was the last to leave his mark and he chose a vacant lot in a shopping mall. As a teacher, writer and graphic designer, Shy played to his strength in typography and interactive media as he deconstructed the idea of "typeface" and "fonts", transforming them into visual representations of many kinds from three big screens showing ordinary people's faces that could be switched from one part to another in three dimensional mottos and hand-screened posters.
"I've always been a commercial guy, so this is the perfect opportunity to 'transform' myself to do pure art. I think many people dream of doing this. I spend half of my time in Chiang Mai where I have a chance to experience a slower pace of life, which inspires me in many ways. I think a lot and I do a lot of things at the same time, so I think a fast pace and slowness can merge together very well. I try to get that point across in this project with Absolut," he said.
Not only did Shy get to display his works for four days, but each day there were different activities and themes, as well as bands and deejays. The opening night — attended by fellow creative industry practitioners — saw former Absolut Artelier artists, Kob and Pomme Chan mix their works for a short moment during a guest appearance by Gene Kasidit with Desktop Error.
The second night, revered artist Lolay Taweesak Srithongdee executed a live painting session during a performance by upcoming indie rock band The Whitest Crow. Actor Patchara Chirathivat's musical project, The White Rose, also performed. The Parkinson and Migrate to the Ocean took on the third night with Dudesweet deejaying. The closing night screened short movies from directors Santi Taepanich, Ter Nawapol and Lee Chatametikool with two experimental bands GAD and Cut the Crab playing.
Typeface by Shy Limanon.
