Street art is a vibrant form of expression in all Asian cityscapes. But in Bangkok, one artist has taken the form to an extreme. Featuring a series of equations, slashes, circled objects and cryptic phrases written in Thai and English, the artwork resembles a sort of treasure map. For Rafael Trezza, director of the entertaining documentary Mysterious Mind Maps, the real treasure lies in uncovering the artist’s identity. For five days, he tried to find the creator of these ubiquitous drawings and give his work some meaning.
Thousands of such drawings cover the city center – concrete barriers, electrical grids, sidewalks, light poles, columns and underpasses. Over the years, passers-by can always see how new works are created. Many people don’t know the artist’s identity, but most believe the paintings reflect some kind of mental disorder.
When Treza met those who claimed to know the artist, they warned against approaching him. They claimed he was crazy and aggressive.
Undeterred, Treza eventually tracked down the mysterious artist. His name is Pichai, and he’s a homeless man with a fascinating life and an entirely unique worldview. Over dinner, he shared the motivations behind his work, the tragedies that have haunted his life, and his feelings about whether he considers himself a true artist.
This opens up a larger canvas for the film than just portraits. Like all good art, it suggests a set of deeper questions for those who seek. Could the mystical quality of this artist’s work – the fact that passers-by have difficulty understanding its meaning – be where the real art is? When it is defined for us—the back and forth is over—do the works lose their value? What defines art, and how does it reflect the inner turmoil and triumph of its creators?
In the end, it’s Pichai’s personal journey that lingers the most. Perhaps the most meaningful element of the film is how it shows that even the fallen among us can have extraordinary gifts and life stories.
Directed by: Raphael Treza
