Artist: Morakot Ketklao
"Air Mail Bear" is a medium that tells different stories of Thailand by letter. The letters are wrote in Thai Alphabet. My Buddy Bear is a presentation of the relationship between people in this world and Thailand.
Morakot Ketklao
The Air Mail Bear was one of my immediate favourites in the exhibition. It made me think of all the penfriends I’ve had through life, ever since I was first able to write a primitive letter in English. Long before the internet, I had penfriends in England, the United States, Canada, Japan, Spain, Germany (East and West), France, Austria, Switzerland, Australia… and a few more countries.
I also know a Swedish couple living in Thailand… They came to mind too when I saw this bear; not only because they live in that country now, but also because they are so good at keeping friends updated with their lives “by (e)mail” – and nowadays Facebook. I don’t know anyone who makes better use of Facebook – and then I’m not just talking about the fact that they have like 800 friends!
The means of communication have certainly changed a lot since they first went to live in Asia in the mid 1990s.
Here are some more buddy bears that celebrate the importance of language and written communication:
Artist: Klio Karadim
Black - White letters
- condensed memories
Written over centuries
- alive today.
Red - Green experiences.
Stacked by people,
created by nature.
Unforgettable moments
- of a childhood.
Bulgaria
Klio Karadim
Venezuela
Artist: Carlos Manrique
“Experiences from the past and hopes for the future form human beings. Common experiences and common hopes unite them into a nation. People of a nation can name their lived experiences. Their creative, yet to be lived hopes are shown by Carlos Manrique through signs and music notes.”
Luxembourg
Artist: Iva Mrazkova
(I love the @ nose!)
Luxembourg is a small country in the centre of Europe (~450,000 inhabitants). In spite of its size the country is a real melting pot of different languages and cultures.
For daily life you need at least 3-4 different languages.
This is also the theme for my bear, the symbolism of creation: script as a means of communication and at the same time a process of decorative creation through the aesthetics of their own script.
Iva Mrazkova
I’ll be linking this post to Friday My Town Shoot Out…
(Theme of the week: “Introduce a friend”)
