.

Galerie Oasis proudly presents

.

an Exhibition of Ink & Watercolour Sketches
‘Dr Birdman : Mhor Mong’s Nature Diaries’
by Rungsrit Kanjanavanit

(Opening Party on Sat 29 February, 5.30 – 9 pm)

.

“Beauty is Truth; Truth, Beauty. That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” John Keats’ Romantic creed is made manifest by the charm and enchantment of the Dr Birdman experience, amidst gem-like birds and the transfixing atmosphere of the landscapes of our dreams. From the bottom of his heart Nature artist Rungsrit Kanjanavanit aka ‘Dr Mong’, who over 36 years filled 15 notebooks with these exquisite ink and watercolour sketches, wants us to know that we cannot live without beauty, and that every threat against natural beauty and balance is a threat against life itself. Our very survival, as well as our reason to live, depends on the preservation of beauty in this world.
.

Rungsrit: “When I sketch a bird, I fall into a meditative trance; this calm focus brings profound peace and a magical bliss. Most of the sketches in the notebooks were made as soon as I saw the bird. If the bird was kind enough to stay still and pose for a time, I’d set up my telescope and finish the sketch that way. But most birds tend not to be so co-operative. I have to visually memorise them in my brain, to be set down on paper as soon as possible.
.

“I start with a detailed observation of the bird: its shape, its beak’s characteristics, the arrangement of its wing feathers; its behaviour and environment, the tree it’s perched upon. Through this process I embark on a relationship with the bird. A link is forged between us, so that we’re no longer existing apart from each other… At the same time, however, I dislike dry science. I also want to record my impressions of the moment, my feelings of fascination, pleasure and pain.
.

“These on-the-spot records differ from pictures painstakingly painted back in the studio. They seem fresher, livelier and more fluid, in the sense of naturally flowing creative energy. Yet once I got home, often I couldn’t resist adding to and ‘correcting’ these spontaneous sketches from the field. Frequently this is a mistake, tainting the original simplicity with artifice. I had to learn when to say enough and to be true to myself.
.

“The more I sketch them, the better I know them; the better I know them, the better I draw. I feel that the process of drawing has changed the way I see the world. It has deepened my worldview, and the deeper my perspective, the more clearly life’s multifarious wonders reveal themselves to me.”

.

Dr Birdman Screening : http://www.cinemaoasis.com/en/cinema/dr-birdman-2/