From being arrested for defacement of public property to being invited to paint the biggest mural of his career on Bangkok’s largest art centre.
Alex Face is probably today’s most known graffiti artist in Thailand. At 38 years young, he has gone from literally running for his life because of his graffiti to being invited to spray on buildings and walls around the world.
After graduating from the Fine Arts department of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, Alex was selling paintings at JJ market by day and spraying walls by night.
He tells us a story from one of his most memorable encounter with the local municipal police at Ladkrabang when he was still a 4th year student.
“I had planned to paint a proper mural with 4 or 5 friends of mine, we were going to work on this obsolete wall, all cracked and situated basically at a dump site. So we start working and by day 3, a local officer from the municipality came and took all of us in for some questioning. We were not officially arrested but by that time, the rumour had already spread around the college that I had been arrested for spraying on a wall. So when we were there, they asked us what we were doing and why, to which I challenged them by questioning back that if it is a wall that needs protection from vandalism, then why don’t you fix it up so that it’s a proper wall? Why do you leave it broken? After much debate, they finally listened to my art argument and rationalised that if I wanted to work on that space, I should submit a proper project proposal, co signed by the university etc.. and hand it in. I did all that actually and kept working but in the end I was still arrested but this time by the police.”
That particular incident was the beginning for Alex to realise that to make a memorable and justifiable wall mural, it is to conceptualise the work in a way that makes the audience relate to the story on the wall. Just like a fine art painting instead of just tagging faces or names around town for the simple pleasure of declaration. He also believes in the power of having a large scale art work displayed in a public space where the audience is large by nature and non-selective. The message reaches further audiences.
From that day to the day Alex got invited to paint on the outer wall of the BACC (Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre) in central Bangkok as part of the BACC Wall For King Rama IX in 2017, he sentimentally shares another story that brings it all home.
“One day, on one of my spray outings, I stopped to work on this wall and this young motorcycle gang stopped to check me out. They kept probing me with questions if I knew what their gang is all about and if I can draw it. I didn’t know what they meant so I playfully asked them to show me on a piece of paper and of course no one could so I painted a skull on one of their helmets instead which gave me instant respect amongst them. They loved the little graffiti and from then on they volunteered to go buy paint for me, brought food and water for me and just hung with me and my friends. That instant bond, which is quite a uniquely Thai community attitude, is what I cherish the most, regardless of who they are. They can be little local gangsters or even art institution officials, it’s the human connection that I value, not quite the size of wall painting I get to do or the building that I get to paint on”.