PANJAPOL KULPAPANGKORN

art4d SPOKE WITH BANGKOK-BASED ARTIST AND DESIGNER PANJAPOL (PAI) KULPAPANGKORN ABOUT HIS RECENT EXHIBITION THAT ALLOWS FOR MEMORIES TO TAKE FORM AND BE WORN…

Could you introduce your recent exhibition, ‘Jewellery is at My Feet, The Show is Yours’ held at Atta Gallery?  What was the concept behind the project? 

Panjapol Kulpapangkorn:  The “JEWLLERY IS AT MY FEET: THE SHOW IS YOURS” project was created in 2012 when I lived in Birmingham, UK. At that time, I started questioning what is jewellery? I spent almost one year figuring it out and searching for the meaning and definition of my jewellery  by traveling. Moving from place to place, one footstep to another, opened up  my perspectives. During my travels, I was always documenting my journey by collecting found objects, keeping a diary and also filming my valued moments. All these things had a strong relationship with me. When I looked back at the things I had collected, it seemed as if I was wearing these memories with me all the time,  not on my body but in my mind. 

Memories are precious, personal and individual. A memory can be defined in my view as a piece of jewellery that is still with me and a  part of me all the time.

It is simple and I believe that everybody has their own jewellery, too. So, I started creating this concept that “Everybody has their own jewellery, but not everyone realizes that they have already worn it” as a campaign to communicate my idea to others.  Throughout the next 2 years, 133 participants from  25 countries  participated  in this project by sending me their precious memories in the form of memorabilia objects with stories and films of  valued moments.  Each memory contributed from participants was used as my main material to create a piece of memory based on each participant’s own story.

Were there any shared memories/materials that surprised you? Any that were particularly challenging to work with?

PK: Yes, sure!  I received almost 100 parcels and each box had different materials, objects and stories.  Most of them challenged me, as I had to often deal with materials that I was not familiar with and needed to work hard to find a connection between both the stories and materials, all the while also developing a way to create a piece of wearable art.

In what ways did incorporating input and material from others influence your own creative process? 

PK: I would say that when working on this project, I learned a lot about the ways of communication and the process of making as determined by different materials, but the most important aspect of this project was about sharing experiences with others.

How did the participants of the project react to the pieces you created? Did they seem to maintain a personal connection or sense of ownership for the work after it was in your hands? 

PK: It was very interesting how participants reacted to the pieces. During the process of making, if I needed more information about the memory, I would always email the owner to talk about it and it was fun to also talk and share experiences with them in person. So with each piece, I attempted to gain as much information as I could before I actually began making. After I finished the piece, I sent a postcard with images to the owners  and they seemed to like the way that one could still remember and see what the piece was made from.

 What’s next? This has been a fairly long-term project! Now that it’s over, do you plan to continue with something similar or perhaps turn to something completely different? 

PK: Yes, this has been a very long term project, almost 4 years, and it is continuing. Parcels are  still arriving at my door and I receive emails requesting to participate in the project all the time. So, of course I will continue to  work on it and, in the meantime, I am often gaining inspiration  from people’s memories for my own future projects as well.

 

 

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