Pratchaya Charernsook dedicates her art to exploring the connection between art and nature. She is from Chumphon, Thailand, an area known for its seemingly pristine beaches and coral reefs. It was on one of these beaches where she noticed the growing issue of microplastic pollution. The concept that utilitarian everyday products composed of such a practical material might degrade and pollute our living environment both troubled and fascinated her. Thus began her foray into the reinvention and transformation of microplastics in her artistic endeavors.
Titled ‘Sairee Beach’, Charernsook’s latest series is entirely composed from microplastics and other debris she has picked up from one of Thailand’s most popular beaches. It is a visually-stunning testament to the many ways humans damage the environment as well as an expression of hope for a better future.
Hoping to inspire others to be more conscious of their use of plastics and their environment, Charernsook’s artworks are meant to be a visual journal of the anthropological impact on the environment she has grown up in.
Charernsook’s works have won her a host of awards, including the UOB Painting of the Year Award twice (2022, 2023), as well as the gold medal in the 38th Exhibition of Contemporary Art by Young Artists, in Bangkok, Thailand (2023). Her artworks have also been exhibited in many places, such as in the 38th Exhibition of Contemporary Art by Young Artists, in the Sanamchandra Palace (2022), and 67th National Exhibition of Art in Bangkok, Thailand (2022). In 2023, Pratchaya had her first solo exhibitions - ‘Sairee Beach’, at the Bangkok Arts & Cultural Centre, and ‘mapping human journey’, at Art4C, in Bangkok, Thailand. Her work is also on display at the National Gallery of Singapore.
Pratchaya holds a Masters in Fine Arts (2021) from Silpakorn University, Thailand.