Thammatat Saithong, better known as Karms, has created striking and unique works since his undergraduate days at the Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University. His distinctive work caught the eye of Trendy Gallery owners, who purchased many of his paintings. Thammatat is now Trendy Gallery's number one artist in terms of high value pieces.
Although Thammatat's collections have received a positive reception since his debut exhibition "Room 063" in 2021, the road to success was not smooth. Thammatat struggled when he had to create a collection after graduation as he felt that it was a time of identity crisis.
"I was thrilled Trendy Gallery was interested in my work, but I did not aim to be a painter at that time. I planned to work in an office or as a freelancer for five years before having a solo exhibition. While working at home alone, I questioned who I was in this community. I felt I had lost my identity and felt insecure. I was worried about other people's expectations and questioned if my paintings would sell," said Thammatat.
Thammatat created paintings with a character named Oge, which depicts a boy with big eyes, a long pointed nose and a deranged smile. Oge's two hands hold up his head which is separated from his body. The name Oge is derived from the word ego, due to Thammatat's identity crisis at the time.
"When I created Oge, I didn't mean to design a character. I was inspired by a person who works as a mascot who has to entertain people and after a long day, he feels exhausted and wants to take off the costume. After taking it off, there is nothing. This can refer to atta, or self, and anatta, or non-self, in Buddhism," explained Thammatat.
Thammatat Saithong, aka Karms.
Besides Oge, Thammatat has created other characters which he described as weird and uncanny, although some viewers think they are cute.
His unusual cartoon-like characters attracted attention from not only galleries in Thailand but also in the UK. Thammatat had the opportunity to host the solo exhibition "Utopia Now" at Unit London in 2023. The exhibition was covered in Art Review, a leading contemporary art magazine based in London.
"'Utopia Now' is a play on words for me. It can be interpreted as 'this place is now a utopia' or 'is this place now a utopia?'. It also can refer to free will. I was thrilled to host the solo exhibition in London and my paintings sold out. Unfortunately, I wasn't there. I prefer to have conversations with viewers at exhibitions."
His latest exhibition, "Passorn Scape" at Trendy Gallery, was inspired by the concept of free will which questions if humans can make their own choices, or if there are external forces at work.
Thammatat always questioned free will. He wondered if he really had a passion for art when he was young or did he have talent because of external forces? He eventually discovered that he had a passion for art because it allows him to express himself.
Passorn is the name of the village where he lives, and the idea of "Passorn Scape" is to question free will by using landscapes to represent stories.
Passorn Scape is set up in a dimly lit room.
"As passorn also means light in Thai, "Passorn Scape" refers to the horizon where the sky appears to meet the land and water. People can see the light of the horizon from a distance. The horizontal line is the blurred line that separates freedom and confinement. Although I cannot see the ending point, I know I can reach it, but I don't go there. Other people don't have to think like me. Although I use the word confinement, I can make a choice to stay or leave and journey to the horizontal line," explained Thammatat.
"Passorn Scape" is set up in a dimly lit room. While the exhibition displays unique cartoon-like characters that viewers are familiar with, it also includes landscape paintings that were created based on typography. Some were inspired by ancient wrought iron in floral designs. Thammatat came up with the idea when he looked through a window with iron bars and a metal floral design at his place.
"This exhibition includes typography graphic designs which I usually sketched in free form. I was thinking about free will while I drew those and developed them because I thought of my body limitations when moving or drawing," said Thammatat.
"I also believe that I use my subconscious while working. When I choose colour palettes and match colours, they come from subconsciousness. Sometimes when I use a paintbrush, I don't know where it is going but the paintbrush moves by my subconsciousness."
Painting based on typography.
Unlike many artists, Thammatat does not explain the interpretation of his works.
"The meaning of art depends on individual interpretation because the way people look at art depends on their experiences and knowledge. If viewers don't have background information related to an art piece, but they appreciate it, that is enough. When people appreciate art, they don't have to like all elements since each piece can be viewed from many aspects," he said.
"I don't have an objective, but I hope the exhibition will be the beginning of conversations and lead to critical thinking about free will. It is the function of art to spark conversation and discussion."
"Passorn Scape" runs at Trendy Gallery on the 2nd floor of River City Bangkok until April 20. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/RiverCityBangkok.
A character by Karms.
Mine(D) depicts Oge.
