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Published on April 10, 2008

Hathairat Charoenchaichana, bass player for the electro-funk band Futon, has launched her first solo exhibition in a totally different art form at Create 8, CentralWorld.

"Under the Spell" features 14 paintings on wooden board, all of them depicting women with black hair cut in bangs, and with large, sad black eyes that fall slightly at the corners.

Those who know Hathairat can't help but point out that the women she paints reflect her own outstanding characteristics, and she doesn't deny it. She smiles and reveals that her subjects are mirror images of her feelings, thoughts and experiences.

"I like drawing thoughtful women. My paintings always come up with melancholy and complicated girls with gloomy eyes. They reflect my own character."

Hathairat says she's the kind of person who is always pondering and daydreaming. That explains the expressions on her portraits' faces, a questioning look that hovers between a smile and sadness.

"It's a sophisticated feeling," she says.

The title of the exhibition, "Under the Spell", came at the last minute - Hathairat says it's not her style to work following a theme. Rather, she enjoys creating freely according to her passing mood. At first, she planned to call the show "No Name", but her brother-in-law sparked a moment of inspiration.

"He saw the paintings in my art room then told my mother that they had really touched him.

"It was surprising because he's an engineer who had never shown an interest in art before. My older sister remarked that he'd fallen under the spell of the paintings, and the words clicked."

Visitors can view Hathairat's paintings while browsing in the modish art bookstore, Create 8, or enjoying Thai food at Rica Dila's stylish restaurant, part of the same space.

Hathairat, 29, had just finished her first painting when Rica Dila called to see of she was interested in exhibiting at her new eatery on Central World's third floor. The artist went on working and created 13 more for the show.

"I came to the restaurant and thought that 14 frames was the right number," she says.

After creating 135 sketches for an exhibition with illustrator Nualtong Prasarnthong two years ago, Hathairat's decision to take up painting came spontaneously. 

"I woke up one morning and felt eager to create a painting. So I rushed to buy materials and spent three days happily sitting in front of the easel to finish it." That original subject - a nude with curly red hair - became her favourite work. She has called it "In a Manner of Speaking".

The name came from the title soundtrack of "A Mighty Heart", in which new-wave group Tuxedomoon sings: "The way you told me everything by saying nothing."

Being a musician - she's now in the process of producing Futon's fourth album - most of Hathairat's paintings are inspired by songs.

"I want to express my feelings through my art," she says. "There are lots of clues in my work, but I give them freely for audiences to interpret - there's no right or wrong. I want my works to act as a mirror in which different viewers recognise different features according to their background and experience."

The light wood board on which the 14 works were painted was a discovery she made while experimenting for an exhibition in Cologne, Germany, last December.

She found that paintings on wood were easier to carry than canvasses. Moreover, Westerners appreciated the natural emotion of paintings on wood while Hathairat found that the medium conveyed a warmth that matched her "noir" style.

"Painting on wood has its own fascination. It's not necessary to colour the entire frame. Leaving some space to show the grain of the wood makes the image alluring," she says.

A graduate of Silpakorn University's Decorative Arts Faculty, Hathairat is a versatile woman. She has also illustrated Ploy Chariyaves' pocketbook "So Sweet", Thai Airways' "New York Guidebook", Mayurin Pongphudphan's book "Dud Charit" and local magazines Lips and Women. She is also a stylist at True Vision.

"Under the Spell" runs at CentralWorld's Create 8, open 10 to 10 every day, until May 15.

Tanaporn Tangcharoenmankong

Special to The Nation