Solo exhibition of contemporary Thai artist Worrawut Laowo at Jam Cafe, 23 March – 11 May 2018. Worrawut Laowo explores aspects of the soul: naive, dark, honest, queer and beautiful.
LIVING SOULS – Artist Statement
In its most basic sense, the word ‘soul’ means ‘life’, either physical or eternal. Contrary to ‘spirit’ which usually refers only to the immaterial part of ourselves. The word ‘soul’, therefore, encompasses all aspects of our life, from the most basic instinct to the quest for transcendence. In order to insist on that meaning, I decided to call this project “Living Souls”.
My project, “Living Souls”, aims at showing with lines, colours and shapes, attitudes and feelings towards our own humanity and spirituality.
Coherence of style and technique is not sought in this project. In fact, coherence does not make any sense in this project. Each piece of work reflects an aspect of my Living Soul. Some pieces use bright colors and reflect my light mood. Some pieces use scraping techniques and may reflect a level of turmoil and heaviness within my Soul. Some pieces reflect my imagination or my deep wishes or spiritual questions.
Working on this project, I often felt inclined to forget any idea of realism as realism can restrain our souls’ potential. If I were to use a realist approach, my artistic constructs would appear tangible. This is the complete opposite of a Living Soul. Souls cannot be touched, held or constrained by the fabric of reality. They exist in the intangible, untouchable and free world of abstract thought.
My “Living Souls” project can be seen as my effort to share my humanity with yours. My deep wish is that maybe one of the “Living Souls” paintings will trigger a smile deep inside you, in your Living Soul…
WARRAROT LAOWO
Lives & Works: Chiang Mai, Thailand. Warrarot Laow is a contemporary Thai artist. Primarily a painter, he also works with photography.
His latest project ‘Living Souls’ is a series of paintings in an abstract figurative style, alive with energy and depth. The project evokes the style of Chagall. The artist comments ‘’To describe our Living Soul is to describe our senses, our desires, our affections, our appetites, our imagination and all that helps us connect to other realities. Coherence does not make any sense in this project. Each piece of work reflects an aspect of my Living Soul. Some paintings reflect my imagination or my deep wishes or spiritual questions’’. He has an interest in Art & Education, hosting free workshops for schools and across festivals in Thailand.
To describe our Living Soul is to describe our senses, our desires, our affections, our appetites, our imagination and all that helps us connect to other realities.
— Worrawut Laowo
