Summer 2009 was a stepping stone in my life : that was the first time I left Europe. Mexico influenced my art and my life more than any other places before. Summer 2015 was another stepping stone since I got to know a new continent : Asia. I first went to visit a German friend of mine who was living with his wife and son in Ubon Ratchathani district ( Eastern part of Thailand). That was a perfect introduction to this country for me. A place were tourists were as rare as polar bears in Switzerland. A farm in the middle of nowhere in which my friend and his family were producing their own food. That means fresh local vegetables, fruits, cereals and meat. Then deliciously cooked by his wife to create that unique Thai cuisine which is incredibly subtile and healthy. I spent hours watching her cooking, trying to learn how to cook Thai cuisine. Unforgettable moments. Like that night when they cooked one of their duck freshly killed for this special occasion (sorry vegetarian friends). I watched carefuly the whole process for hours (except when they sacrificed the bird). While the duck was cooking, the kids around catched some flying bugs, grilled them in a frying pan and eat them. I'm normally quite adventurous about exotic food, but that time I haven't been courageous enough to try this crunchy snack.
That was also my first contact with Buddhism as we went to visit some temples.
One day, we decided to visit a monastery lost in a remoted mountain. On the road, we had a minor car accident that cost our car its mirror. The road wasn't that good : muddy and full of holes. But after a few hours, the beauty of the site made us forget very quickly that incident. Tens of buddha statues were leading us to our destination. As we arrived, a woman monk invited us to meet the leader monk of the place. That was a bald man with dragon tatoos on his arms. I was so impressed by his strong presence I could hardly look him in the eyes. He show us a young monk and told my friend he just cut his hair (that was lying in a vessel) a few hours before to get prepared to meet his spiritual father : my friend. Then he told me I was very welcome as a Christian and gave me a small dragon for good luck. We all left that place very moved. We felt we had lived a moment we'll never forget. A moment of peace and incredibly positive vibration.
And that moment in the middle of the jungle, near waterfalls, where two monks appeared suddenly. With their yellow clothes, the seemed so unreal in the middle of the green and gray. This sight gave birth to the wonderful picture you can see below.
After a few days of total immersion into the Thai culture (I mean Thai countryside people everyday life) with my friend playing the role of cultural translator, I headed west. I then saw many temples, each one unique in its style. Step by step, I got to know more about Thai Buddhism history, tradition and modern customs. Harassing my friend and the guides I met with thousands of questions to feed my curiosity.
Like Latin America did years before, Thailand culture deeply inspired my art. Here a few drawings I made on my art book during my trip :
Since then, my hat has been a strong symbol on my travel pictures, here with the bag friends gave me in Cusco (my second home) and a Brazilian book. Each one of my travel can be remembered by one book at least. For this one, that was Jorge Amado's Capitan of the Sands and Alex Hailey's Roots.
Back home, those pictures and drawings nourished new paintings.
Hope you enjoyed that trip with me to Thailand. Now its time to go back home...and get prepared for another artistic travel. Stay tuned for the next article!
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