Thai-Hong Kong artist, Varagun "Andy" Chongthanapipat, better known as MrKreme, is renowned for his monster characters Rosado, Mushkin, Corkin, Gally and Odeys. His monster family, named Kooky World, has been marketed in many countries including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the US.
Influenced by 1980s animation and movies from DVDs sent to him by a Hong Kong relative, Varagun defines his artistic style as pop surrealism. His Kooky family characters were inspired by monsters in the 80s which feature vibrant colours.
This year, Varagun pushed his creative boundaries by launching the exhibition "MrKreme: The Furryways Asia Tour", in collaboration with ArtXP, an art community dedicated to immersive projects. The exhibition was introduced as a multi-sensory art experience and recently made its world premiere at Parc Paragon, Siam Paragon.
Kitiyapat Sanguankiat, the creative director of ArtXP, revealed that after Bangkok, the exhibition will travel to Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. The team is also in talks with Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan for next year's exhibition.
Kitiyapat said she was inspired to create this art event after being part of the team that organised "KAWS: Holiday Thailand". Installing the world-renowned art piece at Sanam Luang was a unique challenge and the positive interactions from audiences encouraged Kitiyapat to create another art event.
Kitiyapat admitted that although she aimed to organise an art event, she was not an expert in art. Therefore, she wanted to blend art with commercialism and find a good balance. This led to her interest in Varagun's artwork.
"I was looking for a new generation artist who could be flexible and let loose with us. When I saw his characters at the exhibition 'The Bootleg Show' at Moca Bangkok, I felt he was perfect for the project. Some art pieces are complicated and require interpretation, but Varagun's art pieces can bring happiness without any interpretation and are easy to connect with," Kitiyapat said.
After Varagun agreed to team up with ArtXP, he created the concept of New York's subway. He explained that since "MrKreme: The Furryways Asia Tour" will tour to many countries, the theme of travel reminded him of New York's subway. During his time pursuing a Master's degree in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute's School of Design, he took the subway regularly.
"I felt that the subway vehicles were captivating and I wanted to play a contrast between cuteness and grunge. New York's subway has characteristics related to what I do since it features a street culture with graffiti on the trains and stations," said Varagun.
"For me, New York's subway is total rebellion. You can see people who do not buy tickets and jump over the turnstiles or a group of 10 people come together, but only one person buys a ticket, and opens the gate for the rest. I feel like my monster characters have that kind of rebellious spirit."
"MrKreme: The Furryways Asia Tour" attracts passersby to Parc Paragon with its huge, brightly coloured furry monsters. Visitors are invited to explore, touch, photograph and interact with the monsters at six immersive experience stations filled with interactive activities and engaging installations.
Varagun revealed that he intentionally designed the monsters to be covered in soft fur so that they could be part of a multi-sensory experience.
"The scene I wanted to see the most was after the rain, when the staff had to blow-dry and brush the monsters' fur. It is a non-functional design since it is the rainy season and the exhibition is outdoors. After seeing the staff brushing the fur, many visitors even asked to join in brushing the monsters too," he said.
Since Varagun was influenced by 80s pop culture, at the first section, Token Terminal, located right at the entrance, a retro arcade zone greets visitors. Visitors can enjoy 80s inspired interactive games like Kooky Road Cross and Kooky Rush Hour. To play a game, visitors can purchase a token for 20 baht each.
At Tumbling Terminal, visitors will be welcomed by the three-eyed character Odeys. It is a fun space that might make adults envious as only children are allowed in this zone. The zone requires a ticket of 195 baht to enter.
Time Bubble Transit is a gallery showcasing a curated selection of Varagun's masterworks ranging from his earliest sketches of furry monsters to his present creations. To challenge himself to work with a new medium, Varagun created eight-bit games inspired by 80s pop culture on display in this zone.
Another highlight is Wormie Bogie, a one-of-a-kind train carriage inspired by the iconic New York City subway. Although the carriage is stationary, its vibes and the moving video advertisements of monsters make visitors feel as if they are riding a moving train. Visitors can capture the moment with their mobile phones or use a photo booth for 250 baht.
To add a taste element into the multi-sensory show, The Munchie Metro offers snacks and drinks inspired by the monsters. Varagun chose twisted bread because it reminded him of the long bread sold at New York's subway stations.
The journey ends at Souvenirs Vault where visitors can shop for exclusive monster merchandise. Kitiyapat revealed that merchandise serves as the main source of income of the event. The team learned this when they toured to other provinces including Rayong, Udon Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
In those provinces, Varagun created mural art which included an iconic symbol of the region, such as a durian for Rayong, a red lotus for Udon Thani and a shadow puppet for Nakhon Si Thammarat. Next to the mural art, there were monster sculptures which were available for photo shoots. Visitors participated in a game called Monster Hunt and received a postcard at the final spot.
Both Varagun and Kitiyapat were surprised that Kooky World received an overwhelming response in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
"I created a mural on the wall of a bank building near the market. The area served as the final spot for the monster hunt game. Huge crowds gathered there; local people told us that they had not seen heavy traffic like this in ages. The project really stimulated the community and encouraged people to go out and spend money at the local market. It made us happy and fulfilled. It shows that art can really make such a huge positive impact," said Varagun.
After achieving success locally, Varagun is keeping his expectations grounded for the upcoming Asia tour.
"My design work is completely done; the rest comes down to external factors, so I do not want to expect anything. I'm just looking forward to seeing how viewers react to my work. That is the fun part for me," he said.
Despite scepticism, Kitiyapat wanted to prove that the art toy market has not faded away.
"When I started this project, I heard comments that the art toy market in Thailand was in decline, so this kind of event would never work. I felt that we had to prove that this is not true. I believe that the right event can promote purchasing, and this project might be able to restore the vibrancy of the art toy market in Thailand," she said.
"MrKreme: The Furryways Asia Tour" runs at Parc Paragon of Siam Paragon, until Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/artxpth.
