Meet Sirawich Pukuka

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sirawich Pukuka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sirawich, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
One of the reasons that I wanted to pursue an artistic career is the lack of individual voices in my country, Thailand. I believed that art would be a tool that helps bring messages or social issues across society. Basic human rights or freedom of speech in Thailand is still very problematic as you can be jailed for up to 3 – 15 years if you criticize the royals. Hence, in this sense, I believe in the power of art as a tool of human expression that could help empower the powerless in my country because art allows us to talk about the issue without really mentioning it literally. So that people can use metaphors
to talk about political issues without having to go to jail.

Moreover, it also brings about a sense of community which to a certain extent in a community that has been destroyed or under-represented, It is really important to use this tool to talk about that or let people experience that through art exhibition. In consequence, I believe that people would be more tolerant of one another as this tool allows us to feel how other people than us feel about their lives.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think what sets me apart from others is perhaps not really in terms of style since I believe we all learn from one another especially when it comes to art there is art history and generations of artists exploring the same themes, however, the sensitivity and intuition are varied in each of us, in this sense I believed what set each artist apart because that degree of differences stemmed from life experiences.

I am most proud of making art that is more environmentally friendly in terms of the process of making, especially using found objects as I believe in the potential of discarded objects because of how they hold memories with them. In other words, these objects are like the container of human memories and histories in our time.

I still believe that my artistic journey will end when I leave the earth. So I am looking for what to come next. Nonetheless, to get here, for me most of my challenges are myself because for me as an artist most important practice is to keep making work and be consistent about my job and be responsible for what I do.

In this sense, my lesson is that making art is also a profession that needs dedication, commitment and determination just like other kinds of jobs. In short, you just have to really try a lot and not be scared of failures because most of the time that is where you learn the most.

I want the world to know that there is just this voice of me trying to express myself and my situation to the world just as a record through this great medium called “Art”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would recommend if you have a chance to visit this area which is right on the edge of the southernmost part of Bangkok, which is the bay of Bangkok called Bang Khun Thian District. Most people might never have heard this name yet, but this is a place that is the only district of Bangkok that has access to Bangkok’s seashore. Hence there are so many seafood restaurants along the road to the seashore that some are by locals that have fresh ingredients because there is brackish water where people build a pond to farm fish, shrimp and others kind of seafood. Another interesting part is the seashore itself because this seashore is composed of mangrove tress and thus not like a beach where you would expect to go and sunbath or swim but it shows how nature is so diverse and there are trails to walk into these mangrove forests which eventually will reach you to the sea.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to express my gratitude for the inspiring works and practices of two artists who helped me empower myself to learn how to be the best version of myself and trust myself in creating art.

The first person is Dong Ho Cho.
For me, Dong Ho Cho’s work taught me how the space and the object are interwoven and to a certain extent created the overall experience of the art. Hence, It is very important to determine the context of each spatial experience we enter psychologically.

Also, Dong-eun Choi. is another remarkable person because she worked across many different mediums and she managed to make them become one which is how I learned to use media and find objects and many various materials to make art. There is so much potential for incompatible material that is compatible if you take time looking for it and be with it for a while, which inspired me to experiment with unconventional material.

Instagram: @maxpukuka

Other: https://vimeo.com/user24768302 

Image Credits
enddle.work Cary Whittier Federico Savini