“Make art for art and everything else will follow naturally”
“On my first year at Silpakorn, there was an assignment from Ajarn Chalood. It was to submit one piece of work but I did 100 pieces so I just submitted all 100. And I got 100/100!”
Never been one to not follow his imagination, Decha Warashoon is probably Thailand’s longest practising abstract artist. Born in 1945, this Bangkok native graduated with both BFA and MFA in Graphic Arts from Silpakorn University and was awarded the prestigious National Artist award from the Office of the National Culture Commission of Thailand in the Graphic Arts category in 2007.
He never set out to be an artist however, Decha simply followed what made him happy and that is to create and materialise his imagination. Seeking joy, the artist wanted to create something his eyes can not see and so his creations do not stop at prints but onto objects such as hats, bags and belt. He even built his own house.
While practicing what he preaches, his art comes from a thought-led technique. Concepts and imagery start off from his private mind, then onto sketching and the idea then gets expanded onto the frame. Far from skill practice, it is a method of using different sides of the brain for different jobs, right side of the brain to the left side of the brain, using logic to then help shape the piece once the imagination has had its time. It is very much like using the subconscious to create then use the conscious to control.
Decha Warashoon is now a retired teacher who still teaches. He still enjoys passing on his knowledge and wisdom onto his students and mainly uses a small note book to draw these days. It is like his diary he says, wherever he travels, he keeps them near and fills them up with paintings of landscapes. Many have approached him to exhibit his works but is hesitant. He is not good at talking he says, galleries have approached him to be his agent but he is also not so keen. The artist, true to his happiness-led life, does not want to start becoming a merchant once he has to consider the buyer or the audience. He would rather his pieces be an inspirational source for younger artists and history lesson for those who want to know. Its value is something Decha would rather the audience to rate for themselves rather than it being attached to a price. Perhaps it is with this attitude that led Decha to be awarded the Teacher of Thailand title twice in 2004 and again in 2011.
“When I look back at my 34 years of works, it reminds me of my surrounding environment at the time. It is a reflection of it. Not directly of course, I distilled them through my thoughts and it reflected on the era.
Its layers of elements and texture tells a story of my life. Every piece is my pride”.