PAKPOOM SILIPHAN (THAI B. 1972)
Basquait Cans
each: perspex and steel
each: 21 x 7 cm
(3)

Pakpoom Silaphanʼs practice examines notions of globalisation, mass consumerism and the universal reach of cultural icons around the world. Inspired by the work of Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, contemporary artist Silaphan fuses Western logos and cultural icons with themes from his rural Thai upbringing. As a child, he was exposed to the advertising of lucrative brands such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola and became fascinated by the universal language of signs and symbols. Silaphan bridges the gap between East and West, painting over crates and advertising signs, his mixed media collages examine globalisation and mass consumerism. Through this, he hopes to establish how every country is connected.

“The influence of living in a different culture inspires much of my work. I think multicultural societies are as complex as a loose jigsaw but offer many opportunities creatively.”

Silaphan’s art is a modern form of pop art. Firmly rooted in the love of graphic design, bold colour and brand that influenced Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, but with a quite literal undercurrent of the decay and distress that the failure of the Capitalist dream to grow and grow infinitely has wrought. Silaphan turns his materials into sculptural works of art – converting the original artist’s themselves into global brands. In this piece, he has taken Jean-Michel Basquiat's iconic crown motif and suspended one in each of the three paint cans, itself a symbol of the street art for which Basquiat is known for. Much of the materials Silaphan collects are from the many years he spent in Thailand and a key area of interest for him is the infiltration of Western imagery into Southeast Asia and the universality of some images and symbols, regardless of what they may be trying to sell.