SHOWCASE

/ ARTIST / 2023

ARTIST: Matt-Mek
COUNTRY: Thailand
EMAIL: mattmek.studio@gmail.com
CONTACT: facebook.com/mattmekstudio
instagram.com/mattmekstudio
twitter.com/mattmekstudio
I am an artist/illustrator based in Aranyaprathet, Thailand. With a background in landscape architecture, I am interested in ‘plants and places,’ especially native plants, and how plants live in urban or natural areas. I started recording plants I first met with pen and watercolour when I stayed in Victoria, BC, Canada, in 2018. After that, I link my plant sketching to other topics I focus on, such as architecture, history, local mythology, food, and culture. In my latest project, I try to explore my home and wild plants in my backyard, arrange them in a vase, and make art from them. I have joined a group of artists who create works involved in diverse knowledge about South East Asia. My next project is to revisit my hometown to learn and reconnect with local plants and cultures.

I Met Her in My First Spring

Pen and Watercolour

As a girl from a tropical country, I am so excited to live in a place with four seasons. 'Clematis' blooms in April, my birth month.
I met her in spring, climbing on the wrought iron fence of a vintage building in Downtown Victoria.

Rowan Tree at Wascana Street

Pen and Watercolour

I walk along Wascana Street every day for six months, starting from the late summer to the end of winter. The tree I love most in this neighbourhood is the rowan tree. It has delicate feather leaves and a perfectly symmetrical crown. The red-orange berries are so stunning in the autumn sunshine. Like in Celtic mythology, I imagine the tree owner grew it to protect their house. On second thought, they chose it because they like to match the colour of the tree with the building.

Mini-Matt in Peaceful Garden

Pen and Watercolour, Gouache, and Digital Collage

Mini-Matt is my original character, inspired by myself. She loves to sit in the garden around with fresh and fragrant plants. I separately drew a daffodil, English ivy, rosemary, and mosses with pen and watercolour and mixed them with the digital collage technique. I use gouache for Mini-Matt, so she is opaque and outstanding from her garden.

The House of Sunray

Pen and Watercolour with Digital Collage
Illustration for the novel 'You Smell Like Home' by prisym.
The protagonist 'Ray' owns a European-style shared house beside the sea. She has a sunflower bed near the beach and grew Juliet Rose and Patience Rose around her house. I sketch the home and garden plan following the narrator's view, a young woman who came to this house, then develop it into a perspective.

Walking in God's Acre

Pen and Watercolour
When I stayed in Victoria, BC, Canada, in 2018-2019, I found my new hobby: walking in the cemetery or graveyard. People treat the burial place like a public park or peaceful recreation area. My impression of the Veterans Cemetery (God's Acre) is the figure of light grey tombstones on the dark green ground of towering mature cedar trees.

Mushroom Party

Mushroom Party

Gouache and Digital Collage
In 2021, I joined the activities with an artist group, 'ชมรมนักวาดออริ' to create original characters from random mushrooms. After that, I try to build a scene for them to live and enjoy their lives. The graveyard has come up in my head, so I make them dance around the engraved tombstone covered with moss and release their spore under the moonlight.

Backyard Society

Gouache and Digital Collage
In October 2022, I returned to my home in Aranyaprathet and started to explore the home and wild plants around my house. Each familiar and strange plant that I never recognized bloomed in the rainy season attracted me to pick and arrange them into my vase. This artwork shows the mingling of flower combinations from my backyard, which are diverse in form and colour.

Giant Water Mimosa Galaxy

Gouache, Watercolour, and Digital Collage
Giant Water Mimosa has a bright yellow flower that makes Mini-Matt think about the celestial objects in the galaxy.

Return to Taman Sari in a Dream

I have joined a group of artists who create works involved in the subject of South East Asia. Each artist selects one colour from the colour wheel and creates artwork that follows this dominant colour. I chose to draw the Taman Sari Water Castle in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I have been there since 2014. When I searched for information about the Water Castle, I found that the stucco and sculpture in this place are exquisite and lively. So, I got the idea to return to this place in a dream where I imagined the dragon and Makara were alive. The flowers and fruits in this work are from Kepel Tree, the tree that became a favourite of the Javanese princesses, which is believed to make fragrant sweat and odorless urine.

Prasat Khao Noi Si Chomphu

Pen and Gouache
On the top of the small mountain in my hometown, there is a place called Prasat Khao Noi Si Chomphu(ปราสาทเขาน้อยสีชมพู). When I conquer
Two hundred fifty-four steps of stairs, I met the serene location. The only things moving are butterflies in the flare.