Shone Puipia: Antwerp 2012-2016

The exhibition presents selected works of Shone Puipia, an emerging and promising Thai fashion designer. Shone graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. On view are selected silhouettes and accessories from the three collections made during his studies: The Wild Bunch (2015-2016), She Walks on Marble Columns (2014-2015) and She Came by the Green Line Bus (2013-2014).

In his works, Shone creates a myriad of female identities often finding his muse in many lead female characters from his favourite films. He is also inspired by the visual aesthetics of many film directors and visual artists such as Wes Anderson’s and Peter Weir’s cinematography, David Hockney’s and Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings to photomontages and Kate Blacker’s sculptures. He would collage these characters and their mise-en-scène with other visual references and translates them into unique garment designs allowing us to explore these new identities as seen through his lens. His use of unusual techniques, contrasting materials, bold color combinations heightens the allure and wonder.

The exhibition is divided into three sections: first, Shone’s design drawings, sketchbooks and photographs are presented in the form of moving images; second, a presentation of Shone’s creative process of making his collections, from methodology, research, material application, study of garment structures, pattern-making to completed works; lastly, a presentation of garments and accessories selected from his three collections. Alongside the exhibition, there will be screenings of films that inspired the designer’s creations every weekend throughout the exhibition period, including Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).

On 9 December, MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, in association with Chiang Mai Design Week 2017 by TCDC Chiang Mai, will conduct an Exhibition Tour of Shone’s exhibition and other exhibitions in the museum from 15.00-16.30. This is followed by MAIIAM Networking Party at 18.00-21.00, an event that aims to strengthen the network between artists, designers and creative entrepreneurs and businessmen/women, and pave way for more creative possibilities.