Young Thai artist writing stories in petals
By Alana Malika

Naraphat Sakarthornsap, ‘Ignorant Bond’, 2017, photography. Image courtesy of the artist.

Through a single stemmed red rose to say ‘I love you’ or a bouquet of white flowers to say ‘I grieve with you’, flowers send messages to people when words alone do not suffice. Thai artist Naraphat Sakarthornsap uses floral installations and photography to craft intimate stories about his childhood trauma, queer masculinity, and pandemic struggles, offering tender messages about human vulnerability.

Since graduating from Chulalongkorn University in 2013, Naraphat has participated in many exhibitions in Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, The Philippines, Korea, Singapore, Germany, and Spain. Most notably, he was selected to present his work in ‘Spectrosynthesis II - Exposure of Tolerance: LGBTQ in Southeast Asia’ at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in 2019. His photography has been recognised with a Young Thai Artist Award 2016. His work has also been shown in multiple publications including Vogue Thailand and International Floral Art.

Close up view of ‘The Cage (No.2)’ (2020) by Naraphat Sakarthornsap.

Last year, Thai fashion designer Shone Puipia commissioned Naraphat as one of three local artists to create artworks that responded to his collection ‘Cloudbusting’ (2020) from his label SOI SA:M. The installation ‘The Cage (No.2)’ (2020) features cacti submerged underwater in an aquarium. Naraphat chose the plant to convey how he feels suffocated during the pandemic like a cactus uprooted from its desert environment and sunken into the ocean.

Naraphat Sakarthornsap, ‘Please allow me to express myself’, 2020, photography. Image courtesy of the artist.

Naraphat’s use of flowers as his main subject stems from its emotional associations with his childhood. In ‘Please Allow Me to Express Myself’ (2020), there are two school wooden desks with white doodles and messages surrounded with bushes of purple Bougainvillea, the first flower he has encountered. The artist reminisces his childhood freedom and innocence, when he was able to explore his femininity without others questioning his identity.

Naraphat Sakarthornsap, ‘Gushing out my confession’, 2015, photography. Image courtesy of the artist.

Through floriography, Naraphat shares his vulnerability to others. ‘Gushing out my confession’ (2015) explored the male nude as a cathartic response to being outed by a coworker. ‘Behind the barbed wire’ (2019) tells the story of fallen soldiers based on his experience evading the military draft. Naraphat’s affinity to flowers represents beauty that emerges from vulnerability. Behind each pretty petal is a cry for acceptance, empathy, care and all of the intangible things we owe to eachother. If flowers are messengers of unspoken truths, then Naraphat’s message is simple: be gentle to others and yourself.

Click here to read our conversation with Naraphat Sakarthornsap about his childhood interest of flowers, artistic collaborations, and more.