Navin Rawanchaikul's flair for the cinematic

Thai movie fans will want to have a gander at the new show by artist Navin Rawanchaikul.

The Chiang Mai-born, Thai-Indian artist launches his art book Navin’s Sala and opens his Navin Production show tonight with a private party at the River Promenade on the Chao Phya in Bangkok.

Always showing a flair for the cinematic, a previous project by the quixotic artist was Navins of Bollywood, which culminated in an 11-minute Bollywood-style music video that depicted Navin on travels to his mother's birthplace in India, where he encountered other people named Navin.

The centerpiece of Navin's Sala, a jawdropping, heavily illustrated 3-inch thick, magazine-style art book, is Long Heart, "a photo novel extraordinaire" that looks like a 1970s Thai action-melodrama. "Jeed" Saengthong Ket-Uthong from Citizen Dog and Muay Thai Chaiya stars as Heart, the love object for the story's hero, Long (Sathaporn Muenchamnanlong). Cross-dressing performance artist Michael Shaowanasai is featured in character as Iron Pussy (as seen in the outrageous Adventure of Iron Pussy, co-directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul).

The show opens to the public tomorrow (July 5) and runs until August 10, daily from 10am to 6pm. The River Promenade has a shuttle boat that runs from Taksin Pier.


(Via Daily Xpress)