Artist : Warawut Tourawong
Technique : Acrylic, oil and crayon on canvas
Year : 2010
Size : 200 x 320 cm.

Visual illusions in the art are traditionally known as “trompe l’oeil”, a French loan word that means “deceives the eye”. A popular artwork that best describes this style is perhaps Waterfall (1961), a lithograph by Dutch artist M.C. Escher. This style of art was used to create an illusion for something that wasn’t there, either as decor or to create a perpetual motion of something within an artwork. What Warawut Tourawong has created within this painting, playfully embodies both factors with the added frustration of the neither-here-nor-there confusion. Subjects Hour depicts 3 school children interacting with their chaotic and dangerous environment. They are seen holding objects unsuitable for their young age or classroom such as a construction hammer, a plug and one is standing on a broken chair with one sock missing. Surrounding them are scattered broken chairs, broken tree branches, and other unidentifiable objects obstructing the eye and the subjects in the painting. It is a strong artwork to digest, where each detail is jarring for the mind yet perfectly visualises a kind of frustration underprivileged youths face when it comes to their developments.
A very poignant painting perhaps, commenting on the current state of education for young Thais in the 21 century.