Thanarat Asvasirayothin in Conversation with Artist & Founder of BurgBarnBuri Art Space, Thirasak Tanapatanakul
Thirasak Tanapatanakul is a jack of all trades. He is a multimedia artist, a ceramicist, an alumnus of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and also a former creative advertising professional living and working in KhaoYai, Thailand. After retiring from his twenty-year-long career as the Worldwide Chairman of Creative Juice Bangkok in 2016, Thirasak was able to reignite his dream of becoming an artist and began developing his art practice through his life-long family project, BurgBarnBuri; a nature-driven living space that cultivate Thai parents and children with mindfulness through art-crafting and nature-based activities such as ceramic making, printmaking, nature walking, culinary demonstrations and many more.
Ever since BurgBarnBuri was created in 2008, Thirasak and his family have continued to form strong artistic relationships with many renowned artists across Thailand. Additionally, through this endeavour, Thirasak also discovered his true passions for art making and displaying art in public spaces. His holistic experiences in local and international creative industries promoted him, alongside eight other artist friends, to execute a public art show entitled Life which is currently on show at Khaoyai, Thailand, until May 2023. This exhibition encompasses a series of outdoor public artwork that responds to BurgBarnBuri.
After wrapping up his first public art exhibition in KhaoYai, in February, MADE IN BED sat down with Thirasak to learn more about his journey in the arts and advertising, discuss hidden meanings behind BurgBarnBuri and its masterpieces on view at his exhibition Life.
Thirasak Tanapatanakul.
Thanarat Asvasirayothin: When did you start to get into your professional career as an artist, and for how long have you been involved in the arts and advertising?
Thirasak Tanapatanakul: I began studying Advertising and Design for my Master’s degree, and that’s when I decided I had a strong passion and connection to visual arts and advertising. From then on I became almost obsessed with the arts through my creative advertising career; this was around 1989. I worked in various pockets of the advertising industry, including Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO Bangkok, and JWT Thailand before going back to Thailand to run my own agency called Creative Juice and also form BurgBarnBuri Farm with my wife (2007-2008), where I had a eureka moment and began developing my art practice.
Thirasak Tanapatanakul at the opening of BurgBarnBuri Art Exhibition, Life. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
TA: Can you explain the concept behind BurgBarnBuri Art Space and what your inspiration was?
TT: BurgBarnBuri is like my art studio and is known as a family complex that is both a farm and a getaway place for families, educational institutes, and non-profit organisations to come and use as seminars, workshops, demonstrations etc. Back in 2007, there was a key moment that triggered the beginning of BurgBarnBuri, my 4-year-old son started to scream in my face after I refused to get him a smartphone (as shown in the video clip of My Family Project). I was shocked by my son’s behaviour; it reminds me of my advertising job, which is to drive maximum consumption, and now it’s like a boomerang that we throw, and eventually, it came back to me as a parent.
The concept of BurgBarnBuri was then formed. It was to be a safe space for Thais and Internationals that promotes self-sufficient living and mindfulness. That’s when art comes into play. I wanted to make art accessible to everyone through our site-specific art installations and creative retreat workshops with nature walks and modest accommodations. From then on, I started to glue these two things together: Art and Farm.
BurgBarnBuri Art Exhibition, 2023. Photography courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space
TA: The name “BurgBarnBuri” is definitely distinctive, how did you come up with it, and what does it like to be at BurgBarnBuri Art Space?
TT: BurgBarnBuri means ‘The Place of Joy’. The concept of this place involves outside joyful walks to appreciate the beauty of nature with works of art as well as self-healing and therapeutic group activities to understand the nature of the mind. The beauty of nature at BurgBarnBuri forms the core concept of our current art exhibition, Life, and it is also the subject of all talks and workshops held here.
I want BurgBarnBuri to be an alternative to the consumerist society, where you can find happiness in life based on simplicity. Our team is geared towards providing workshops such as ceramic designing, printmaking, action painting and drawing from nature to encourage imaginative play and keep parents and their kids' creative minds engaged with one another.
Our farm only uses natural materials; even the sink was made out of bamboo. Families can get creative and create many things, including cups, bowls, or even plates with our initials on them. I also showcase my advertising knowledge through workshops that allow people to learn how to start a brand and build their design thinking skills. They will also have a chance to pick their own eggs, veggies, herbs, and other ingredients to cook for dinner.
Insect Sculpture by Thirasak Tanapatanakul. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
TA: You went on to complete your graduate art studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. How did your experience there influence your advertising career and your artistic path?
TT: It was not my educational background that influenced me to work in the arts and advertising, but rather, my past work experiences at Y&R Advertising Agency in San Francisco that drove my passion for Creative Juice Bangkok. Living in and working in the US also shaped me to discover my unexpected passions in ceramic art and sculpture making, thus influencing my love for the craft of artistry and creating art for the community as well through the space of BurgBarnBuri.
While I was staying in the States, we always said that “the art of the east was more direct, while the art of the west was more decorative”. I completely agree, especially since the school I graduated from is on the West Coast of America. I deeply appreciate the beauty and decorative aspect of the art direction and creative approach. We are strong in concept development but also add a more decorative sense to make it more beautiful. I must give a warm hug to Melinda Mettler; she’s not only my instructor at the Academy of Art University but also my boss at Y&R in San Francisco, who taught me to appreciate and create the beauty of advertising.
Works by Thirasak Tanapatanakul and Udom Udomsrianan. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
TA: You were a Worldwide Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Creative Juice for almost twenty years, eventually leading all of the Thai and International ground-breaking advertising campaigns such as Bangkok Insurance, Tamiya and etc. To what extent did your creative advertising role equip you for what you do now, and how does art knowledge fit in?
TT: To me, both commercial art and fine art share something in common; creativity and the passion to express it were always there. They just lay dormant, waiting for the right time to emerge. In the advertising world, I used art to design product campaigns that fulfil the needs of the consumer through my awarded-winning advertisements, such as Bangkok Insurance and Tamiya. The process of designing any form of advertisement has no other difference from any art or design discipline. It’s all about the art of visual storytelling in various forms of mediums spanning from video, creative imagery, and sound.
However, it was after retiring from my career in the advertising world that I began to pursue my lifelong passion for becoming an artist and ceramicist. Once I retired, I started revisiting all my works ranging from my working drawings to sculpture and ceramic design ideas. This offers me an opportunity for the other side of my brain to train my creative muscles.
Artist Talk at BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
TA: You and your family have recently launched BurgBarnBuri’s first-ever public art exhibition entitled Life. Congratulations! Could you tell us more about the stories behind this exhibition, who are the exhibiting artists and how did you all get together to form this exhibition?
TT: Life encompasses all strands of Thai artists’ extraordinary practices, including ceramics, sculptures, installation, painting, land art, found-object assemblage, and time-based artworks. My family and I are grateful to be able to produce our first new exhibition on-site and to draw from the many local resources, knowledge and exchanges. Each of us responds to the idea of “life” based on our perceptions and encounters from the city’s physical and conceptual landscape and hopes to create works of art that hold significant value in the Thai art industry.
The artworks presented here come from various provinces including Ajarn Sriwan Janehuttakarnkit and Somluk Pantiboon from Doi Din Daeng in Chiang Rai, Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch from Ratchaburi, Yuttana Sittikan from Chiang Mai, Thong Yalahla from Nakhon Ratchasima, and Udom Udomsrianan and Nai Dee Changmoh from Bangkok.
Another thing that triggered my passion for hosting this exhibition is mostly my long-lasting friendship with Thai artist Udom Udomsrianan. Udom is my teacher and my mentor for this show. He helped organise and invite those big names artists to exhibit their works here and thus transforming this place into what it is today; the art space.
Works by NaiDee Changmoh. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
TA: All the works of exhibiting artists at BurgBarnBuri reflects upon life and nature. Are there any specific pieces in the space you would like to highlight? What are the inspirations behind these artworks?
TT: First, I would like to highlight our Burgbarndee Garden, which was created in collaboration with Thai sculptor Naidee Changmoh, and the landscaper Ajarn Tom of PO-D Architects. Then as you enter our grassland inside BurgBarnBuri, you will see the works of Udom Udomsrianan immediately. These range from sculptures, pencil drawings, Chinese ink paintings, oil paintings, and etchings which are each situated at different corners of BurgBarnBuri. Udom’s works have a diversity of shapes inspired by natural forms: round, oval, and cornerless like stones, reflecting a deep understanding of one’s self and emotions. The stillness in Udom’s minimalist sculptures also reflects the spirit of nature.
Artist Workshops, Udom Udomsrianan. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
I would also like to highlight Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch’s unique colourful ceramics works. He displays his interest in capturing the unexpected through his ceramic installations, Untitled Blue and White. His works act as a reflection of the transience and uncertainty of life, and Wasinburee transforms our workshop’s interior spaces with blue-painted porcelain tiles that are carefully installed onto our space’s wooden pillars, acting as totem poles that allow the audience to walk around and observe the pieces.
Untitled Blue & White, 2023. Porcelain art by Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
Untitled Blue & White, 2023. Porcelain art by Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch. Image courtesy of BurgBarnBuri Art Space.
The logo of the exhibition that I created also reflects the concept of the “Beauty of Nature”. Throughout my work, I am particularly interested in the natural forms of insects and bacteria, and I work across a range of mediums, from paintings to 3D sculptures to interactive installation art. My ceramics and cement stone-like installation, “Peepcada”, is my highlighted piece. It’s basically a set of sound sculptures in form of tubes that connect to the ground, and I hide my objects, such as insects inside each tube, allowing the viewer to look through, interact and learn about each insect through sound with QR codes.
Overall, the result of this exhibition is playful and endearing. Moreover, it is great because we look at all things - nature, people, mountains, trees, and all-natural elements - that identify us as humans. We want our audience to observe the art from various angles: top views and side views.
TA: What do you see in the future of BurgBarnBuri? Will people keep being challenged and motivated to make and consume art in new ways? How do you want to be a part of these upcoming experiences?
The future of BurgBarnBuri is to enhance the creative and mindful approach to life through art and to offer more nature-focused art workshops. Of course, people want to experience art in new ways. By staying and doing workshops at BurgBarnBuri, they will be able to not only appreciate the beauty of nature on the outside but also understand the inner self – the mind.
Thirasak Tanapatanakul at BurgBarnBuri.
BurgBarnBuri’s art exhibition, Life, is on view through the 7th of May at Burgbarnburi Art Space, Tambon Khanong Phra, Amphoe Pak Chong, Chang Wat Nakhon Ratchasima 30130 in Khaoyai, Thailand.
Thanks to Thirasak and Jaruwan Tanapatanakul on behalf of MADE IN BED.
BurgBarnBuri’s Instagram and Facebook, and Thirasak’s Instagram.
For more information on BurgBarnBuri Art Space, visit their website.
Thanarat Asvasirayothin
Contributing Writer, MADE IN BED