Sweet Surreality
Prestige Thailand|July 2017

MANTA KLANGBOONKRONG explores the mind of pop surrealist ATCHALINEE “AIM” KESORNSOOK, learning how she found her way back to art after a years-long soul-searching detour.

Sweet Surreality

WHEN YOU FIRST look at an oil painting by Atchalinee “Aim” Kesornsook, it’s hard not to be captivated by the cute doll-like faces and the soft, sweet colour palette she uses to depict her characters. In one piece, called Alice, a tranquil scene depicts a blond-haired, doe-eyed girl standing in a field full of kittens with butterflies fluttering in the air. In another, Mina, a girl is enveloped by thin branches and surrounded by white flowers, a bunny and butterflies. However, if you step a little closer to appreciate the details, you’ll find more macabre, grim elements that provoke deeper thoughts about the relationship between pleasure and pain in our lives.

At 38 years old, Aim only made her public art debut early last month in “Plus Four”, a joint exhibition with three other artists at Duke at Gaysorn, but her journey in the world of art started when she was a little girl – against her parent’s approval.

“Like most parents, they wanted to see their children get ‘real’ jobs with financial security, and unfortunately being an artist wasn’t one of them,” Aim says. “But I knew I had a gift in art.”

After attending high school in the UK, Aim went on to study engineering in the United States to please her parents. She excelled in all her subjects, but the yearning for artistic expression was too difficult to ignore.

“I try hard at everything all the time, even with things that I don’t really like,” she says. “But my heart was not there. I felt empty.”

This story is from the July 2017 edition of Prestige Thailand.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 2017 edition of Prestige Thailand.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PRESTIGE THAILANDView All
Into The Deep
Prestige Thailand

Into The Deep

For the Thailand launch of OMEGA’s latest Aqua Terra timepieces, the Swiss watchmaker headed to Phuket for the big reveal

time-read
2 mins  |
January 2018
Yours Virtually
Prestige Thailand

Yours Virtually

Immersive virtual-reality experiences could well be the future of cinema, writes Mathew Scottz

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2018
Bubbling Up
Prestige Thailand

Bubbling Up

A man with a modern vision, Hervé Dantan has helped Champagne Lanson become more widely appreciated, writes 

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2018
Secrets Revealed
Prestige Thailand

Secrets Revealed

A stalwart of Thailand’s third largest island’s luxury hotel scene, Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui is continuing to set the pace with a number of exciting new developments, Francois Oosthuizen discovers

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2018
Commanding The Empire
Prestige Thailand

Commanding The Empire

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN is leading his label to global domination, one shoe, clutch and fragrance at a time. He invites ALICE FRANKLIN to his Parisian home and waxes lyrical

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2017
Verdant Garden
Prestige Thailand

Verdant Garden

For his fendi Haute Fourrure Fall/Winter 2017-18 collection, KARL LAGERFELD conjured up images of flowers from another world, leading to creations of almost ethereal beauty

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2017
Objects Of Desire
Prestige Thailand

Objects Of Desire

With inspiration drawn from the captivating beauty of the Eternal City, BULGARI’s 2017 Divas’ Dream collection is a tribute to feminine elegance, with gemstones bursting in vivid hues and designs that celebrate iconic motifs in extraordinary and bold designs

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2017
Days Of Future Past
Prestige Thailand

Days Of Future Past

Urwerk’s exceptional think tank, Martin Frei and Felix Baumgartner, discuss progressive horology with ANDRE FROIS

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2017
Escaping The Entourage
Prestige Thailand

Escaping The Entourage

JEREMY PIVEN talks to KAVITA DASWANI about Ari Gold, artificial intelligence and the weight of a well-placed “F” word

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2017
Split And Run
Prestige Thailand

Split And Run

JADE CHANG puts the Wangs on the road as they take on the world. But as STEPHEN MCCARTY discovers, they’re already home

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2017