Some artists can’t resist the lure of a wall when visiting London. The same is true for Bangkok based artist Alex Face, visiting the country to exhibit at the Moniker Art Fair at the Truman Brewery. Alongside fellow Thai artist Bon and the UK’s Mau Mau, Alex has added a few pieces to the popular spot on Hanbury Street. It’s a stones throw away from the art fairs which have been drawing art lovers to the area, the artists decided to take the air and add their mark.
The Baby
Speaking to Alex in between drawings it becomes clear that here is an artist with a social conscience. His current signature drawing is that of a baby, at first glance cute but all the time worrying about the future of the world. The baby idea was inspired by the birth of his daughter. “The first time I saw her she looked angry or worried” he told me. It made him why she looked like that, causing him to reflect on the life she had ahead. “I thought are you not happy to be my daughter? Are you not happy to be in the world?” Questions that had not struck Alex before, he was now asking of himself.
Considering the Future
Ultimately this world changing personal event had caused Alex to consider the future and in particular to take stock of the changes happening in his own country, the country in which she would grow up. “I got the idea that maybe I should paint something to warn the people about what the future could be” he told me. Disturbed by the amount of development in a short space of time Alex grew up on a farm in Thailand but now… “there are factories, factories everywhere, in only 20 years time… Bam!!! Factories” Alex is concerned that the world is changing too fast.
Rapid Development
It is against this backdrop of rapid development that Alex’s daughter will grow. “Before with the farm they grew rice, but now they build cars, factories from Japan and Korea and so no one grows rice anymore” says Alex. He is worred for his country, “the population is growing, it will grow and grow and then the food will be gone because we are not growing food anymore. I think it will be a problem” he told me.
Third Eye
So for now Alex’s baby is worried about the future, pensively waiting to see what grown up life is like and wondering how the world will be. He draws the baby with a third eye. Alex is spiritual “I believe in the spirit, that is how I grew up, I feel the spirit” he says. The third eye in his drawings represents another dimension “its something that we can feel but can’t see with two eyes so I add the third eye which can see what we can’t”. The third eye can see the future, the third eye knows what will happen but the baby only has two eyes and so can only worry about what is to come.
It’s quite a deep story when on first glance Alex’s baby’s are simply cute “the first time people see the baby they say ‘oh how cute’ but if you look, the baby’s not happy. The baby is worrying about the future…”
Alex and Bon returned to London after a brief trip to Devon after the art fair and decided to take the time to paint the famous spot on Pedley Street.
Alex Face was interviewed by Inspiring City on Saturday 19th October. Alongside fellow Thai artist Bon he was visiting the country to exhibit at the Moniker Art Fair. They returned to the capital after a brief trip to Devon in order to paint the Pedley Street wall on Sunday 28th October 2013.
Reblogged this on Mai Thaim and commented:
I knew I’d findem!!