Skowmon Hastanan - Fire Wheel

The Fire Wheel series derives from Internet portraits of violence. During a residency, I was keeping in touch with a friend in Thailand. I watched daily in astonishment the progress of Bangkok protests that had turned bloody. “It’s definitely not the same Thailand you know,” he stated. I collected the riot pictures and became intrigued with images of burning tires. Painting these images enabled me make sense of, and distance my emotion from the event. I left out evidences of human form and specific identification, while leaving the wheel as the central figure, and the fire with the smoke as the emotional elements. For minimal sense, the main color palette is limited to four. I chose sand color paper with subtle quality that presents the feeling of vast space surrounding and levitating the painted areas. The images that were once disturbing became the source of evolving painting processes. The tire appears solid and dark, as well as a thick river of black melting liquid; in contrast, the fire flame is light, alive, and organic. These elements required different attention. The wheel is more control while the fire and smoke are more expressionistic and a challenge for the successful outcome.