“I really don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before,” uttered one pleasantly surprised visitor to Hoontown. Welcome to a makeshift town full of serene sea life, voluptuous cowgirls and other quite quintessentially quirky characters. For three days (December 30th, 31st and January 1st) street artists from all over the world came together to be a part of Thailand’s first international community arts festival. ‘Hoon’ is from the Thai word for puppet, and ‘town’ is an English word. This was puppet town, a non-profit, grass roots street carnival with puppet shows and performances taking place across three shanty stages.

“Things are going so well,” beamed co-organiser and self-monikered ‘forest mongrel’ Duskin Drum, as he paraded around Hoontown as if he were a carefree child, dancing with a troupe of fairies. Whilst growing up on a small island with no running water or electricity, Duskin and his brother learnt the depths of imagination rather fluently, which they utilized as they toured the US with their unique take on street arts and performance. This led Duskin across China and on to Bangkok, where he met Adam Edne, and came together with ‘Kae Dum,’ a Thai marionette group based at the Rajada Art House in Samsen. From these meetings, the concept of Hoontown was born; it was to be a three day community art and puppet festival that would be a rare opportunity to bring together talented Thai puppeteers with their Western counterparts. Both groups were able to work with the local communities through a series of work shops and projects. The setting, in Samsen Soi 5, was aptly rural and rustic enough to reflect the nature and ethos of the festival.

An ancient art with a modern twist

Puppetry as an art form is embedded in Thai tradition and dates back to at least the 17th Century. It has long been an effective and creative form of artistic expression, and yet it is often overlooked by media circles because it is not vogue. Puppetry is a true simulation of the real, and as such allows for great artistic expression and an immediate understanding of messages by an audience. The audience’s involvement is similar, albeit more empowering, to when watching a movie.

Hoontown presented a fusion of ancient and new and Western and Eastern puppetry and street art. Whilst Asian puppetry traditionally focuses on ethical, philosophical and sociological concepts perpetuated through ancient stories, Western puppetry has tended to be more an exploration and expression of feelings. For these two ideologies to come together would surely produce some interesting results.

The Thai puppeteers performed alongside the Western artists in performances such as ‘Birdy Boy,’ which saw one Thai artist take on the form of a white bird in a lavish costume, interacting with two puppets in the hands of Western artists. The hybrid of artistic styles was a visual feast for the audience as the surreal became the real and the plight of the characters unfolded.

The lull before the storm

For four weeks, 30 international artists worked closely with Thai communities, and amongst themselves, to create shows to perform during the carnival. This intricate process encompassed many artistic forms. The artists spent a great deal of time making their own puppets at the Rajada Art House before the event. Talented French artist Jean Paul Richon spent a great length of time carefully applying real human hair to a beautifully sculpted, clay puppet head, which was to be used in a story of a slum boy who has dreams of becoming a bird.

While this was going on, Robin Frohardt, from America, was painting a landscape that was to be the back drop for a tale of two buxom cowgirls and their adventures, complete with songs penned by the girls themselves and accompanied with their own diverse, musical talents, including banjo and kazoo. These songs, and others, such as Nick Jones’ colourful tale of a crab’s wishes to be a sailor, gave Hoontown a uniquely tuneful edge.

The Hoons have arrived

Droves of people from various international backgrounds (Thai and foreigner alike) stood side by side enjoying the performances at Hoontown. The language barrier was easily overcome by the diverse nature of puppetry itself. By experiencing the emotion the puppeteer is portraying, one need not understand the words that are said, but rather understand the performance as a whole.

A large group of farang watched in awe a performance themed on the dangers of using drugs. Despite Thai being the only language used, the performance itself was easily decipherable because the artistic expression came not only from language, but from movements, tones of voice and music, artistic props and the puppets themselves. Hoontown brought people together and it entertained them without the slightest hint of an ulterior motive. The looks of joy on the faces of the audience members was a clear reflection that graceful stories can still hold the attention of children and adults alike in the digital age.

The aftermath

Hoontown was something different for Bangkok’s artistic communities to ponder. The emphasis on Hoontown was about inclusive fun. The event showed that art can be involving and exciting for everyone, and need not be restricted to exclusive and elite circles. For art to exclude certain groups, makes it lose all sense of self purpose and it becomes self defeating for the very essence of what artistic expression is. “It’s been great fun,” commented one traveler with her kin. “My whole family have really enjoyed it today. It’s really been a wonderful day”

The public interest in Hoontown is arguably demonstrative of one reason why media groups should not move in such exclusive circles. Singha Beer, UBC and Siam City Cement were all proud sponsors of an event which many people could not believe would have any marketing value in Bangkok, a city which is still not too hip and trendy for grass roots projects such as this. The organisers of Hoontown 2005 hope that many similar events will be able to take place now that the Hoons have laid some steady foundations.