Nakrob Moonmanas

Nakrob Moonmanas is a visual artist, illustrator and writer living and working in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nakrob Moonmanas collages Thai and Western art together using simple editing software, but his art is anything but simple. “Combining many things from such different times and spaces represents contemporary ideology—we live in a collage world within a collage universe,” he says. Through his work, he tries to encourage alternative narrations and interpretations. He wants to challenge existing narratives—What is ‘Thai?’ What is ‘sacred?’ What is ‘sacrifice?’—and in doing so, encourage critical thinking.

Moonmanas’ work challenging classical interpretations of ‘Thai-ness’ faced negative feedback from specific conservative groups concerned about the use of religious imagery, or photographs of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He accepted the criticism with grace. They are, after all, just another alternative narrative or interpretation of his own work. “It’s fine that some people do not like my work. We have our own freedom to express our own opinions, and of course, we all have freedom to interpret art.”