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Sorapong Seechompoo

"What do you think about the future when you are young? Some people just follow the currents of mainstream culture, without trying to fight for different things. I am a person who seeks myself, my heart, and what I really want to do. My name is Sorapong Seechompoo and yes, I am a painter. I was born on Feburary 5, 1975. My family is made up of farmers and merchants. None of them need art. They say that you can't eat art. I remember when I was three years old my uncle used to teach me about painting. I've been in love with art since that time. I used art as my courage when I was growing up. It makes me powerful and I forget everything else when I start painting. This allows me to calm down and think about the problems in my life.

"No one else in my family is an artist. My older brother studied engineering but I decided to study in the faculty of arts. Nobody understands me, but I think that this is just my way. I tried to learn with the help of my friends, who taught me how to use the implements of art. Four years in university allowed me to learn something about the arts. But still I try to learn even more. When I graduated I got a job working with a foreigner who gave me copies of the paintings he wanted me to reproduce. We went to the south of Thailand and traveled in many places. I painted every picture my boss wanted, but I didn't feel like they were really mine.

"I left this job and decided to do what I wanted to do – paintings that come from my heart. I painted more and more and followed my heart. The important thing is not to worry whether it can sell or not. It makes me very happy to see my finished work like it was painted in my mind. Some pieces are just to record what I am thinking at the time. I think this changes even when only six months have passed.

"My painting is inspired in the relationship between life and the philosophy of truth according to Buddhism, and conveyed through a concrete world running parallel with the real world. Whenever memory arises, imagination arises. Feelings towards different things in my surroundings become a private culture. My art is idealistic - reality is limited. I strive for an idealistic reality.

"For me, I love to see older works of mine and compare them with my present works, finding the way to solve the problem. I think this present time is the happiest I've been since I was young."