Layers of Lolay Taweesak Sritongdee On a hot and humid Friday afternoon, we met with the country’s leading artist with the smiling and friendly face, Taweesak Sritongdee, otherwise known as Lolay. Toy of Thai Vichitsilp “Actually my nickname is Toy. I loved drawing since a child and find so much joy in it. I traveled around often, settling wherever my father, who was a policeman, would be relocated. I went to school at Thai Vichitsilp, notoriously known for gangs and fighting, which made me persevere and finish school as soon as I could.” “Art is a very expensive subject, for instance, a tube of paint would cost 28 baht. I saw my seniors competing and whoever excelled, would win free paint. I was determined and practiced until I represented the entire school and earned a lot of paint to use! That was when I was Toy of Thai Vichitsilp.” My Name is Lolay “Everyone claimed a new name when they went to school. It was a good way to begin on a new clean slate where everyone was equal and friends. This nickname, Lolay, which means indecisive, came at the last minute when I was contemplating on so many choices for names. I didn’t like it initially but I guess the name kind of stuck.” An artist with traditional techniques and a cyber world story teller “I define my art as the story of humans. I love to draw humans and everything just comes from my imagination. Everyone asks why they don’t wear clothes but they’re actually not naked. I just don’t emphasize a period or era of clothes and the skin is more airbrushed. It’s actually an old technique of dabbing on paint with your brush and not actually airbrushing but the results are strikingly familiar.” “I get inspiration from books and movies, such as biographies of Adolf Hitler or the works of Shakespeare. I never worry if people will understand my art. My paintings portray what I see and notice and that’s what I want to communicate to people. I never have to make a presentation at exhibitions because attendees will ask if they have questions. When I was displaying my work in Japan, I made a drawing book for the kids to draw or color in. I noticed that some of the children even put in quotations which made everything amusing and entertaining.” “I love to produce music videos, which enables us to expand our creativity. I also love writing. (Readers may have seen his blog entries or stories online) I think this is therapeutic because you’re transferring your ideas and thoughts to paper, or in this case, the computer.” Life as Lolay “My imagination resembles that of a child. Children certainly have freedom in their thoughts and imagination and can find substance in the trivial things. It’s fun to think like these children and who knows – they may become heroes in the future. My true life hero would be my mom. My imaginary hero would have to be Doraemon. Doraemon certainly has it all. When I’m stuck in traffic, I could only wish for his special magic door that takes him someplace else.” “My imagination has no boundaries as I work on the top floors of the building. Sometimes art makes us become too immersed in our work and that’s why I go to the rooftop and look below to see the hundreds of cars and people. I’m just a tiny part of that world and it makes me feel unpretentious.” Before we said goodbye, I glanced to see an unfinished painting nearby, where only the colors of black and white are used and shapes that are different from Lolay’s original work. “I normally use a generous amount of lines and color in my work. But as I get older, I prefer simplicity and seek pleasure in life.”