Streams of Change: Art, Agency and the Environment brought together six artist-educators from the Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University, Thailand —Supachai Areerungruang, Panot Pluemchusak, Subhachog Jumsai Na Ayudhya, Sarawut Ngernphum, Seree Thianjalee and Phusit Rattanapanop in a reflective exploration of ecological consciousness and artistic agency through drawings and paintings. Using river systems as a metaphor, the exhibition reflected on the interdependence of natural and human worlds, highlighting how environmental and emotional currents continually shape our collective sense of place.
In this exhibition, the artists each presented a set of 6 works as they examined the shifting landscapes of modern life. Supachai’s paintings depicted urban atmospheres shrouded in haze, confronting viewers with the subtle yet pervasive consequences of pollution. Panot’s softly rendered scenes invited a return to quiet contemplation beneath the trees, moments of stillness often lost in contemporary living. Subhachog’s integration of Sanskrit sutras and personal artefacts imbued his works with spiritual resonance, reminding audiences of mindfulness amid worldly flux.
Sarawut’s luminous studies of light and darkness captured the poetry of city nights, while Seree’s Diary Season series translated internal emotion into surreal fragments of industrial and organic forms. Phusit’s recurring “Crow-headed Man” figure offered a striking commentary on consumption and waste, urging reflection on humanity’s ecological footprint.
The exhibition prompted viewers to reconsider their relationship with the environment and to recognise art’s power to mediate between awareness and action. In conjunction with Streams of Change, curator and participating artist Dr Supachai Areerungruang also spoke at the 6th UOB-NAFA Southeast Asian Arts Forum, extending the dialogue on sustainability, cultural agency and creative responsibility beyond the gallery walls.
