People & Culture - Thailand's Islands and Beaches - page 792

damage caused by flooding and provide a space for storage and livestock. In the south,
houses have traditionally been simpler, relying heavily on bamboo poles and woven bam-
boo fibre. You might also see Malay-style houses, which use high masonry foundations
rather than wooden stilts.
Architecture over the last 100 years has been influenced by cultures from all over the
world. In the south, you can still see plenty of Sino- Portuguese hôrng tăa·ou (shoph-
ouses) - these are plastered Chinese-style masonry houses with shops below and living
quarters above. Classic examples of this style can be found in Phuket Town. Since WWII
the main trend in Thai architecture has been one of function over form, inspired by the
European Bauhaus movement. As a result, there are lots of plain buildings that look like
egg cartons turned on their sides.
Thai architects began experimenting during the building boom of the mid-1980s, res-
ulting in creative designs such as Sumet Jumsai's famous robot-shaped Bank of Asia on
Th Sathon Tai in Bangkok, or the Elephant Building off Th Phaholyothin in northern
Bangkok.
Painting
Except for the prehistoric and historic cave paintings found in the south of the country,
not much ancient formal painting exists in Thailand, partly due to the devastating
Burmese invasion of 1767. The vast majority of what exists is religious in nature, and
typically takes the form of temple paintings illustrating the various lives of the Buddha.
Since the 1980s boom years, Thai secular sculpture and painting have enjoyed in-
creased international recognition, with a handful of Impressionism-inspired artists among
the initial few to have reached this vaunted status. Succeeding this was the 'Fireball'
school of artists, such as Manit Sriwanichpoom, who specialise in politically motivated,
mixed-media art installations. In recent years Thai artists have again moved away from
both traditional influences and political commentary and towards contemporary art, fo-
cusing on more personal themes, such as those seen in the gender-exploring works of
Pinaree Sanpitak, or Maitree Siriboon's identity-driven work.
Theatre & Dance
Traditional Thai theatre consists of four main dramatic forms: kŏhn is a formal masked
dance-drama, traditionally reserved for royalty, depicting scenes from the Ramakian;
lá·kon is dance-drama performed for common people; lí·gair is a partly improvised, often