Dubbed the Thai Banksy, Headache Stencil criticises the Thai military government with unique brand of humourous yet sharply critical street art. His current exhibition in Melbourne, 'The New World Standard' aims to tell the world how Thais have become resigned to life under the most recent junta regime.
The first graffiti that brought Headache Stencil recognititon was a depiction of an alarm clock with a face resembling Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister General Pravit Wongsuwan. The graffiti appeared on an overpass in the middle of Bangkok’s CBD, when Pravit admitted he had failed to declare 25 luxury watches in a governmental list of assets. He claimed they were borrowed from a friend who had passed away.
All eyes of the Thai military government were fixed on Headache Stencil once more when he depicted a black panther with a ‘mute’ icon next to it. The stencil drew attention to the stagnant legal case of a Thai businessman charged with having poached a rare panther.
Even though Headache Stencil has never revealed his identity and always wears a face mask, authorities still managed to track him down.
“Police officers, about 13 of them, flocked to my apartment without a warrant, which I thought was beyond all reason,” Stencil tells SBS Thai. “I thought they totally abused their authority. Why did they send that many officers to hunt down a street artist while their jurisdiction was overrun with crime?
“The government might think that my artwork or what I do might stimulate thought, make people think or make people see things. I think that the government is fearful of this. If what I do can create more people like me, the government might see it as problematic for their governance.”
After the police encounter, Headache Stencil posted a photo from his apartment CCTV on Facebook that showed the 13 officers deployed to watch him around the clock for 72 hours. Having been exposed by the post, he says, police then charged him with a less severe charge of vandalism, instead of a computer-related crime, which would have carried a harsh jail term and is seen by many as a tactic by the Thai government to restrict free speech.
The artist has learned to avoid trouble by painting his graffiti on private walls and by keeping the location of his works and even exhibitions secret to the general public.
Beckoning cats and a ‘money swallowing’ piggy bank with faces resembling those of some junta leaders (Photo: Parisuth Sodsai) Source: Supplied
“I have no idea if I will be stopped from holding an exhibition or my works will be censored or not,” he says.
His Melbourne exhibition, running until Sunday, November 4, at Black Cat Gallery in Collingwood, is, therefore a rare opportunity for Headache Stencil to share his artwork and thoughts freely.
Titled ‘The New World Standard’, Headache Stencil wants his exhibition to show the paradox of seemingly peaceful and content life under the abnormality of the Thai junta’s regime.
“What has happened is that Thais seem to be able to adapt to life under a dictatorship, which I think shouldn’t be something we are resigned to,” he says. “We should try to find a way to get our rights and our freedom back. But it turns out to become a new norm of living for Thais.”
In some of his more provocative art on display in Melbourne, a Thai woman in ornate traditional dance costume with a contrasting bandit’s scarf is posing gracefully on a military tank.
On another piece, children are having fun swinging off the gun attached to a military tank.
A graceful Thai traditional dancer juxtaposed above a rigid military tank in one of Headache Stencil's works in 'The New World Standard' (Photo: Parisuth Sodsai) Source: Supplied
On the next wall is a large picture of a mouse trap with the word ‘election’ written on it.
“Are we going to really accept living with only half freedom?” the artist asks. “Are we really going to accept suppressed rights?”
The upcoming Thai election is seen by Headache Stencil as an attempt to whitewash dictatorship (Photo: Parisuth Sodsai) Source: Supplied
“My main objective is to make everyone realize that actually we still have the right to think and to speak,” he says.
“If you just think and speak to make the country better, but we are hunted down because of that, it’s not right. The fact that I am still working and spraying is proof that everyone still has the right to think, to speak and to criticize the Thai government.
“If they use a dirty trick to hunt you down or create troubles for you because you just think and speak your mind, I believe the world community won’t let them do that easily. Thailand can’t survive in this world without any support from other countries.”
Headache Stencil’s exhibition in Melbourne is on display until Sunday, November 4th, at Black Cat Gallery in Collingwood, Melbourne.
