Multipaws (2017) — Social Art Library

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Mae Aguinaldo & Natalia Ludmila

The finished mural — A photograph of the finished mural on a white fence in a garden lined with palm trees. The mural shows a series of human figures in silhouette adopting a range of postures including jumping, dancing and cheering. The paintings are finished in yellow, green and red with a black outline. Photo credit: Mae Aguinaldo.

MultiPaws (people-assisted works) was a participatory mural-making project for the BangMod Canal International Art Project in Communities program held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Natalia Ludmila and Mae Aguinaldo, the artist-leads, worked with two different groups in making the MultiPaws mural within Wat Phutthabucha. The first group comprised of BangMod Festival's seven Malaysian student-volunteers – Anissha, Jack, Michael, Nivehthaa, Rubinia, Shalini, and Wei – who participated in a silhouette tracing activity and worked with the artists in painting the mural.

The second group comprised of 12-year-old Thai students from the school located beside the Wat who participated in a second silhouette tracing activity. Unlike the volunteers, these kids spoke minimal English but were quick to pick up on how the artist-leads wanted the activity to go. In Natalia's words, MultiPaws (people-assisted works) is "a play on words that alludes to its people-centred processes and the large dog community that cohabits within the mural's vicinity".

Mixed in the black paint outline of the mural is recycled magnetic powder procured from the Environment Engineering department of KMUTT. As a test for succeeding collaborative projects, the use of this powder was aimed at facilitating the access of visually-impaired audiences to the public artwork. The collaboration with KMUTT Environment Engineering department was facilitated by the Bangkok-based ARC Station.

The project represented the first time some of the volunteers had engaged in mural-making. One had expected to simply paint a "drawing that had been drawn by someone". They enjoyed the process of seeing the mural take shape, not quite knowing how it would turn out, and then still being surprised upon seeing the mural when it was finally completed.

More information: http://wearmesa.blogspot.com/2017/12/multipaws-mural-making-at-wat.html

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Natalia Ludmila

Natalia Ludmila (b. Mexico City, Mexico) is an artist who works at the intersection of painting, drawing, video and sound. Her practice is studio-based research centered on the problematising of mass media generated images. Focusing on those produced to depict conflict situations of a sociopolitical nature. In order to question forms of representation and the construction of false or biased narratives. In her research, Ludmila looks for the possibility of different and multiple readings. Articulated through as diverse views and experiences as there are viewers.

http://www.natalialudmila.net

Mae Aguinaldo

Mae Aguinaldo (Manila, Philippines) taps into material cultures and their stories of adaptations, traditions and processes. Several of the art projects that the artist has produced have been in Southeast Asian cities, which have strengthened the collaborative and cooperative aspect of her art-making. One-on-one story-making sessions, DIY fashion workshops, found-object sculpture promoting sustainable tourism, online scholarship projects on art and on Philippine culture – these are among the artist's recent works.

http://wearmesa.blogspot.com/

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