AA Visiting School Bangkok

AA Visiting School Bangkok

Curartistry: Creatures in Architecture

11-22 December 2023

This year is our 10-year-anniversary of AA Visiting School Bangkok hosted by the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University. We will continue a process of work entitled “Curartistry,” curating everyday artistry in Bangkok, with a new theme of study, “Creatures in Architecture”. We are interested in animals as signs of the cities, animals and mythological creatures in mural paintings, animal sculptures dedicated to spirit houses and shrines along the streets of Bangkok, and the significance of these creatures that define the boundary of spaces in architecture at different scales.

Singha lions, for examples, guard the thresholds of temples and houses for protection and security. Garuda, an abstraction of a hybrid creature between eagle and human which resides in the netherworld called the Naga, is placed on the rooftop and is significant in the hierarchy of Thai traditional architecture. All of these issues raise the question of language, tradition, craftsmanship, labour and culture including the notion of the everyday.

Students will be invited to visit a number of significant sites in Bangkok related to the theme which we have organised with special access.

1. Wat Pho, the most significant royal temple located at the south of the Grand Palace. We will visit the temple in the evening exclusively organised for our workshop to experience a completely different experience away from the day time crowd.

2. Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, known as one of the most beautiful landmarks in Thailand. The main spire of the Temple, more than 80 meters high, symbolises Mount Meru, which according to Buddhist cosmology is the center of the universe.

3. Wat Suthat, a royal temple with a complex structure imitating the heaven of God Indra. Inside the temple, mythical creatures are depicted in the mural paintings.

4. Wat Benchama Bopitr, the Marble Temple designed by Prince Naris, one of King Chulalongkorn’s half-brothers, in the late 19th century. Each of the main entrances are guarded by a pair of singha lions made of Carrara marble, executed in Italy and transported to Thailand. The Temple also functions as the first Buddhist museum in Thailand.

5. Prince Naris’ private residence in Klong Toey District, known as “the house at the bottom of the slope” or Ban Plainern.

6. Chokenumsin spirit house factory, a production factory of miniature mythical creatures which are used as sacred elements of the spirit houses and shrines.

Observing the imaginary creatures in temples, palaces, private residences, at a particular time of the day would serve as a stimulus to start our conversation through the subjective experiences of the participants.

The tours will be led by Arthid Sheravanichkul, PhD, a renowned scholar in Thai studies. Arthid will present a talk on “Animals and Mythical Creatures in Thai literature”. He will be working closely with the students in the workshop.

There are three sets of skills that will be taught in this workshop. The first set is about documentation, such as photography, illustrations and videography. The second set of skills concerns writing to the point that the project emerges and we would expect a lot of rewriting to define the project. Lastly, we will also guide the students to equip them with curatorial skills for them to present their works to the critics with confidence.

The final outcome of the workshop will be an exhibition on the 22nd of December. The final projects will be compiled into a hand bound A2 sized art book.

We would like to invite students interested in architecture, art, design and any creative minds to apply. The selected reading list and study materials will be provided and emailed to all the students two weeks before the workshop on November 27th 2023.

Curartistry is a continuation of a series of workshops started by the late Mark Cousins since 2016.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aavsbkk
Instagram: aavsbkk

How to apply: https://www.aaschool.ac.uk/academicprogrammes/visitingschool/bangkok