Every day, while on her way to university, Titapa Thinnaracha would ride pass Sanam Luang, Bangkok's large "home" for the homeless.
The familiar sight of the vagrants sleeping on the ground, without any protective shelter, eventually became her motivation to set up Hope Bag for Homeless — a project that creates mobile homes made from discarded vinyl ad cut-outs.
The project, Titapa recalled, was initiated as part of her art thesis at the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University. Back then, she would ponder over the imbalance between the capital's limited residential areas and the rising population.
"I wanted to make something 3D [as part of my thesis] and I'm personally interested in the space that is related to people's lives. Small and narrow areas are becoming increasingly essential as we see more and more condominiums pop up. Homeless people are those who really need space for living, so I came up with the idea of building them a place to stay."
At university, Titapa once had an opportunity to provide an art lesson to the less fortunate in her "art for community" class. This was the first time she realised that art can benefit people as well as reflect social issues and was another contributing factor to her starting this project.
Titapa decided to participate in the Brandnew Art Project 2015, a platform for new artists to showcase their works. Her project was selected to be put on display at Bangkok University Gallery (BUG), which is where she has also chosen to hold a workshop.
"I think it would be a great chance to let the project speak to the public as well as other artists on how art can do something good for society," she said.
In gathering information for the project, Titapa got first-hand experience with the homeless in order to learn more about their lives and what they actually needed.
Common problems included uncomfortable sleep and lost belongings. Titapa's product aims to solve these problems.
So far, the Hope Bag for Homeless project features four designs: a bag with foldable sheets, a foldable tent, a non-foldable mobile tent and a multi-purpose trolley. These will be distributed to the homeless countrywide.
"The homeless have diverse needs. Some are stationed at one place, some sell garbage, some do odd jobs and some just wander around. Therefore, each person needs a differently designed dwelling," explained Titapa.
Nuthanai Nima, a 22-year-old homeless man, said the Hope bags can really benefit those who don't have permanent homes.
Titapa Thinnaracha.
"With the design, it makes homeless people look better as we have a proper place to stay. But apart from that it is a good start to raise awareness and change people's attitudes towards us," said Nuthanai.
Titapa collected discarded vinyl from across the city to use as the main material for her handmade dwellings. Other materials for the "bags" include zippers, bag straps and sponge.
"Vinyl is common and is used widely in the industrial world from toothbrushes to condominiums. It also has various colours and designs that can be used for decoration. Vinyl can be useful if we use it right," explained Titapa. "The homeless are also familiar with the material and can easily fix it themselves if their vinyl home is broken or damaged.
"I was lost at first when I tried to put too much design in the Hope bag and it turned out that it didn't fit their life. Then I came to realise that the purpose is to make the homeless happy and therefore it should fit their needs rather than being just a piece of artwork." Unlike most artists whose artworks are based on personal inspiration, Titapa prefers to do something more understandable and relatable to others.
"I'm an art student who is not very deeply into art. Therefore, I want to show that art has other aspects too. With this project I want to take art out of the gallery and try to spread it to the public as much as possible."
This is why Titapa believes she has learned much more than design and art skills from this project.
"As I opened my mind to share the story of the homeless, I've found that they are no different from others and they are just the product of this imperfect society," Titapa commented. "I also found something in common between myself and the homeless. Some, for example, once worked as craftsmen, which is quite similar to what I do. If we somehow make a wrong decision, life can change in the blink of an eye."
Through her research with the homeless, Titapa found that their quality of life had not improved over the past decade. One thing she is sure of is that to successfully solve this social issue, collaboration from every part of society is paramount. And through her work, she hopes society will be inspired to find a solution to the problem.
"I hope people will somehow have a better attitude towards the homeless after hearing their stories and from me in the workshop," she concluded. "If I can also encourage people to do something beneficial for society, that's a bonus."
Hope Bag for Homeless will be on display until Aug 8 at Bangkok University Gallery (BUG). There will also be a workshop every Friday and Saturday where participants can learn how to make Hope bags.
Multi-purpose trolley.
Nuthanai Nima.
Non-foldable tent.
