Once a provocateur, always a provocateur. We confess that we have been waiting for this impresario to stage his first solo art show and though it did not happened last year, in its place, Pongsuang “Note” Kunprasop has created something which has further disrupted the “scene”: his website Third World. Bangkok would not be Bangkok without Pongsuang and no longer does his influence extend to the must-go to parties but now also the Internet. Ironic, satirical, and with astute observations, through the website Pongsuang informs us of the various facets of cultural life in Bangkok and beyond, also beckoning us to question the state of our lives and of Thailand today. Third World is a legitimate site with viewers and readership that challenge those of publications and websites that have been around for far longer. The self-proclaimed party boy now has a broader platform that lets him speak to his generation and provide some context to the generation after. Beyond these Internet dabblings, Pongsuang is still involved in Slow Motion, a creative agency he co-founded with Bam Chumpani and Nu Nimsomboon. Slow Motion’s skills, combined with his, are undisputedly some of the best in the region. Then there is the Art Forward Fund, the annual art award that he co-founded with Boonyapha Bencharongkul. And if that is not enough, Pongsuang brings it right back to what he knows best by helping run Tapas, the Silom Soi 4 institution, on the weekends. The original owners of the bar gave him the keys to their castle and Note, together with his friends, run its upper floors. Expect to hear The Smiths and Suede blasting from the bar, aptly called Third World.
