mnartists.org: Mok Buakaow

Julaporn

Mok Buakaow — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:45:21 GMT

When I first arrived in the US, I noticed that people sometimes laughed when I told them my given name -- Julaporn. But in Thailand, the word "porn" has a very different meaning. It's the name of the king's daughter (and technically, no one else is supposed to use it) and means "silk." Commonly found in women's names, "porn" is a formal word for a blessing from God. So the name literally refers to the ceremonial silk one would present to monks at a Buddhist temple: prayer silk. To reclaim the word and poke fun at the dirty-minded, I had a neon sign, of the kind seen in strip clubs and bars, made up of my signature -- with the "porn" part wired to flash on and off in garish pink. My goal is to both offer a little education about Thailand (a land often stereotyped by westerners for its sex trade) and make a joke about a case of mistaken identity.

video: Julaporn

The Mirror Wall

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:49:40 GMT

The Mirror Wall project was realized in Weimar, Germany 2006. This project mirrors back the behaviors of these people through stencils--on paper and painted directly on walls--that show them in physical or psychological I found the most beautiful emptiness in the actions of people in the street during moments when they pretend not to do anything, the state of mind without the wall. They’re moments of life when they also do not make judgements and com- parisons or think, plan or strategise about how their lives ﬁt into various competing ideologies . But there is something in the internal dynamics of the creative process that thrives on this kind of attention.

image: Stencil on paper

image: Stencil on paper

image: Stencil on paper

image: Stencil on paper

Sleep Well

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 02:33:50 GMT

Gently etched in the Minnesota snow, this quiet prayer to the victims of the December 2004 tsunamis reads "sleep well" in Thai.

Nong in Minneapolis

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 21:36:25 GMT

image: Mobile Buddy

image: Bus

image: Amarican Soup

image: Bare Feet

Foreward Home

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 21:22:37 GMT

Projected on a Weimar city wall, these drawings reflect a period of adjustment and loneliness in a new place, transforming a newcomer's loneliness into an outward statement of individuality and agency.

image: Sofa - Drawing projected on public wall, Weimar, Germany

image: Lamp - Drawing projected on public wall, Weimar, Germany

You've got me

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 20:09:32 GMT

image: Video documentation, TV, Sculpture installation

image: Video documentation, TV, sculpture installation

Lonely Project

Mok Buakaow — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:15:56 GMT

image: detail

image: detail

No, I can not find you (Nein, ich kann sie nicht finden)

Mok Buakaow — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 19:29:23 GMT

image: Installation on sidewalk, Weimar, Germany

image: detail