Sakul Intakul
The Museum of Floral Culture, Thailand
In Thailand, flowers are a way of life. This paper explores the spirituality and philosophy that influences the Thai floral culture from the past to present. As Thailand is located in a tropical zone, the floral art of Thailand has evolved around tropical flowers and other plant materials, creating ranges of intricate forms of floral crafts unique to Thailand.
The presentation explores all basic forms and all basic techniques of Thai floral art, while explaining the interconnection of flowers and the Thai way of life. The evolution of Thai floral art with foreign influences will also be discussed. At present, the latest evolution of contemporary Thai floral art shows an interesting dialogue between Thailand and the world. The presentation also includes the use of traditional materials and techniques in a modern context.
(Presented in the 2014 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: Flower Culture in Asia, 8-9 July 2014, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, and Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University)