CIRCULAR AESTHETICS AND ECOLOGIES OF REPAIR: WISHULADA PANTHANUVONG'S UPCYCLED ART AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION IN THAILAND
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/tacr.2025.2Keywords:
Upcycled Art, Eco-aesthetics, Circular Aesthetics, Environmental Communication, ThailandAbstract
This paper rigorously examines the upcycled art practice of Thai environmental artist Wishulada Panthanuvong, focusing on how her innovative approach transforms discarded materials into powerful agents for ecological awareness and social change. It synthesizes four critical theoretical dimensions: circular aesthetics, craft and object biography, visual culture in environmental communication, and local ecological aesthetics/cultural landscape theory. Panthanuvong's work assigns new aesthetic and ecological value to waste, reanimating materials through meticulous craft and an ethics of repair, as exemplified by pieces such as "Sustainable Map" and "The Last Bear." Her distinctive "cute" visual style is analyzed for its efficacy in mobilizing emotional engagement and facilitating environmental communication, particularly in the context of urban Bangkok. The study reveals how her art reorganizes urban spaces and public consciousness, offering a locally grounded, participatory, and educational model for sustainable art from a Global South perspective. This interdisciplinary analysis positions Panthanuvong's practice as a significant reference for contemporary eco-art, demonstrating art's potential to foster critical reflection and action towards a more regenerative future.
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