Fah Thai Magazine May June 2018

FASHIONED FANTASIES
Right
The commissioned
work from Gucci
resulted in a set
of illustrations
featuring the
‘Wonder Factory’
where gems are
fashioned.
Bottom
In Phannapast’s
vision, the factory
is run by all kinds
of fanciful and
endearing creatures
behind ‘Le Marché
des Merveilles’
jewels and charms.
were very conventional. Leaves had
to be green, and the branches of
the tree had a certain form,” says
Phannapast.
In art school, Phannapast had
access to many artistic concepts,
ideas and inspiration, and found out
that beauty, indeed, has different
faces and forms. She started to take
a hard, long look in the mirror to
find out her talents.
“People have been living in a
conventional world way too long,
and are way too comfortable to
recognise the beauty of being
different,” says Phannapast.
“When we find something or
someone unconventional, we keep
asking too many questions. We tend
to think that they are misfits and
alienated. We believe that they need
to be fixed.
“In fact, we don’t have to look,
think, feel or act like our peers.
Beauty lies in being different – be
it difference in sexual identity or
appearance.” In her work for Gucci,
Phannapast tries to convince people
of this philosophy.
In art school, Phannapast had access to
many artistic concepts, ideas and inspiration
and found out that beauty, indeed, has
different faces and forms.
She also illustrated a book of
imaginative fairy tales written
by a friend, Aracha Cholitgul,
inspired by stories of a personal
past, and brought into an artistic
visualisation. The tales in three
chapters revolve around
a “Wonder Factory”
where animals create
jewellery.
In the first
chapter, “A Present
from the Sky” tells
a tale of the kitten
who wears a mask to
cover up a facial mole.
One day the little cat
decides to take off
the mask when
it learned that beauty and a feelgood
experience do not come from
appearance alone.
The second chapter, “The Very
Big New Friend”, Erawan is a large
elephant having a hard time trying
to get a job in the factory.
She is large in size with
legs as large as the oldest
trees in the forest.
Her body is even
bigger than the factory
itself and when her
ears flap, they create a
small whirlwind. After
Erawan has been in
the factory for a while,
she learns that she
is a misfit. Every
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