An art exhibition entitled “Miss You” (想念你) created by Thai artist Gongkan, which is part of the ongoing Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2021 event, is on display at Anim’Arte NAM VAN (南灣 • 雅文湖畔).
The exhibition is hosted by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) in conjunction with the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO).
According to a statement by the bureau, the exhibition features an art installation made of mirrors and fibreglass (size: 2.4 x 1.6 x 1.1 metre). The artwork represents “the concept of loving with freedom.”
Gongkan wishes to express “love without restraint”, and everyone has the freedom to choose the person they want to love, regardless of who he/she is. “In today’s life, we encounter people from different places, backgrounds and cultures every day. Sometimes love and relationships between people are hindered by physical distance, race, and even social status”, the statement underlines.
Kantapon Metheekul, better known as Gongkan, graduated from the Kasetsart University Laboratory School (KUS) in Bangkok in 2007 and from Silpakorn University, Faculty of Decorative Arts, in 2011. He works and resides in Bangkok, the statement said.
After graduating from Silpakorn University, Gongkan moved to New York, where he spent three years working in the creative departments of advertising agencies. In his spare time, he created street art and illustrations centred on the idea of him being transported through time and space to his homeland, the statement points out.
One of Gongkan’s works, entitled “Teleport Art” (感官藝術), became known in the New York street art scene and later in Bangkok. The element of time is a predominant concept in Gongkan’s paintings: surrealistic canvas, populated by human figures, realised with graphic flat strokes. By presenting different visions of the present times or rewriting the past, Gongkan creates alternate realities in the process, the statement said.
Due to the “Lionrock” and “Kompasu” typhoons, the artwork has been temporarily removed from the scene and will be displayed again afterwards until November 23 in Anim’Arte NAM VAN. For more information, visit https://www.artmacao.mo/2021/eng.
Photos: Camy Tam
