Recognized by his stage name Alex Face, Patcharapon Tagruen is called the Banksy of Thailand
In the world of graffiti or graffiti-based art, the name of Banksy is well-recognised- an artist from the country of England. However, there’s another Banksy that exists in this world about whom much may not be aware of. Hailing from the country of Thailand, Patcharapon Tagruen who goes by the stage name Alex Face is also acknowledged as the Banksy of Thailand.
Presently aged 40, the artist rose to fame in 2009 after his daughter was born. As a father, Face was tremendously disturbed about the world his daughter was born in. In fact, it was his newborn girl who stirred him to create his first masterpiece known as the Monument of Hope. His newborn daughter used to produce a sardonic and vulnerable look to the surrounding people, which influenced him to design the Monument of Hope; a three-eyed child in a worn-out rabbit suit. At present, the Monument of Hope rests in Bangkok’s City Gallery, which is graced by thousands of spectators daily.
When asked about the Monument of Hope by the Widewalls, Alex Face said, “The first time I saw her she looked angry or worried. I thought, are you not happy to be my daughter? Are you not happy to be in the world?”
Born in 1981 in Chachoengsao, Thailand, Alex Face currently lives in the city of Bangkok and has filled the city landscape with his pieces. Not just Bangkok but Alex has produced several artworks in the public places of other cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Amsterdam, Oslo and Jakarta. An alumnus of Bangkok’s King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, Face thinks of himself as an artist with a conscience to whom, the city of Bangkok and its deserted buildings are tantamount to canvases.
After graduating from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology, Face covered the city with artworks because he craved to establish a bridge between the underprivileged population of Thailand and the urban population. Apart from the Monument of Hope, Face has given birth to many other notable works such as Alive, Fragile, Drifting Upstream, Urban River, Keep on Keeping on, Love & War, Project Zero, and The Underground Adventure to mention a few.
Alex Face may not be a world-famous artist, but he is struggling hard to reach the top of the world. In case you cannot visit his works in Thailand; you can check out his Instagram account.
