Phuket Street Art - Part 3
WATERSKIING AND FINANCIAL RUIN
Hello everyone! Back again with some more street art from Phuket Town. Today I'll show you a bit of Phang Nga Street combining leisure activities with financial ruin. Yes its true. This first piece is actually just across the street from the Drawing Room which was featured in my last post. Part 2 - Hipsters
Water skiiing and spraying a trail of color
This piece is on the wall of a very popular noodle shop. When I first came to Phuket they rented rooms upstairs to tourists. They were quite simple and cheap. 120 baht which is a price not to be found in Phuket these days. This painting wasn't here nor were any of the other street art in those days...
Personally, I find the detail of this artwork quite remarkable. With the harsh weather conditions here of sun and rain the eyes still look out in a joyful manner. I love the tshirt with the cap on backwards while water skiing and spray painting a trail behind him. This one just makes me feel happy and smiling.
The Lion Roared and Then Collapsed
This reminds me of the Lion from the Wizard of Oz. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning here. I'll explain in the next photo...
In 1997 or 2540 in the Thai calendar, the Tum Yum Kung Crisis occurred and this abandoned building used to house a bank at that time. That bank, along with many others, failed during the financial crisis. Perhaps the lion represents cowardice as the lion in the Wizard of Oz shows a great bravado and show but behind the show is actually a weak coward. Such was the economic state in those days. This also reminds me of the secret man behind the curtain pulling all the strings and gadgets to put on the show which all failed once he was discovered. Interesting enough, this street still houses banks but this building still stands abandoned as a stark reminder of what was...
Going, going, gone? I think so...
This is a local shop but perhaps it is abandoned these days from the current financial crisis. Many shops have taken a break while many others have closed. Thai shops don't put "out of business" signs so one is left guessing and waiting... The plant died so it seems like a sudden departure. I do like the painting as Phuket used to be a breeding area for elephants which were exported to India many years ago. And even today one can see cranes such as these in some areas of the islands in the "winter" months when they fly from colder regions. The lotus flowers are a sign of Buddhism and can be found in many ponds in Phuket as well.
More lotus plants with a black panther ready to pounce on you hehe.
The shop next door seems to be abandoned as well due to the dead plants. Normally, Thai take very good care of plants. These people seem to have left quickly. The tiles are traditional Chinese style. This is part of old town but not in the tourist area.
A Quick Shout Out of Respect
This is the first street art I saw in Phuket. These days its hidden behind a building that was built after. Shout out to the Pkt crew. This type of art isn't necessarily my thing but everything comes from something so good to show respect!
Thanks for reading!
Please upvote and reblog!
Great works. That first mural is very beautiful and creative. Thanks for the photos.
My pleasure @trincowski. There's one or two more coming which I think you'll enjoy. I agree the first one is very cool...
Thanks for the curation @freedomtowrite. I'll join the Inner Blocks Community for sure... :)
that first one is incredible. They must have had a cherry picker or some sort of scaffolding to complete it. Also they certainly had permission to do so because that level of detail can't be accomplished by an illegal tagger. Nice finds!
Thanks yes indeed. I wasn't here in those days but yes all of the large street art pieces must be done with the local govt. I believe they pay the artists as well.
AWESOME post! Those pooooorrr plants 😟. Those are some cool murals. I think I have that shirt, but never gave it one thought about water skiing in it! hmmmm 🙄
Many thanks for your comment and votes @bdmillergallery. You can't go wrong with a shirt like that! Funny thing is I've never seen water skiing here. Could be wake boarding or kite boarding but it seemed like water skiing to me haha. Yeah maybe I'll go and try to rescue those plants. Not sure if the occupants left for good or temporarily.
I think water skiing is not as popular anymore. Like you, I don't see it much anymore. I am sure it is somewhere.. lol
Probably in Florida haha