Image Credit: Mixed media on vintage metal advertising signs.Year: 2013. Size: 135.0cm x 93.5cm
G’day Expat Choicers! Leonardo da Vinci is messing with us again.
Pascal Cotte has spent over 14 years peeking under the Mona Lisa's layers and has discovered a hidden drawing which includes a hairpin (which would not have been in style in Florence at the time da Vinci created the painting) amongst other findings. Cotte said, the "hairpin suggests that the painting wasn't a portrait, but an allegorical work, or a depiction of an unreal woman, like a goddess." Curiouser and curiouser. Sounds like we need to get Robert Langdon in to crack this Mona mystery...
No da Vinci code-breaking required for this week's art fix friends. In fact, it's pretty straight forward. Take one Japanese pop artist (or one of the most expensive living female artists of all time if you prefer), add polka dots and vintage 7UP (Thai) advertising signs and voila! Hello "Yayoi Kusama On 7UP" by Pakpoon Silaphan.
Thai artist Pakpoom Silaphan uses found objects such as old metal advertising signs and wooden soda crates to create his commentary on globalisation, consumerism and cultural icons.
Images of Warhol, Dali and Frida Khalo (to name a few) are collaged and painted over the vintage advertising signs to create thought-provoking, contemporary, Pop Art.
Silaphan was born in Bangkok and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Silapakorn University in Bangkok before moving to England in 2001. He studied printmaking at Camberwell College of Art, receiving a Post Graduate Diploma, and then went on to complete a Masters in Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Art and Design. The influences of his time, both in London and Bangkok, provide a backdrop for much of Silaphan's work.
Silaphan's art is strongly influenced by his fascination with the relationship between East meets West, and on the universality of signs and symbols that have infiltrated the global collective consciousness.
His imagery of vintage Coca-Cola and Pepsi crates, often with Thai logos, are notable for their raw and decayed portrayal of consumer culture.
Silaphan has exhibited in London, Japan, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and India. His work has been placed in the Hiscox Collection, Sir Paul Smith's collection and has appeared in various publications.
Enjoy this week's art fix like your 7UP, "Crisp and clean. No caffeine"!
For more information contact Blair@addictedgallery.com or Elena@addictedgallery.com or go to www.addictedgallery.com
