“Art is the one thing that helps me understand the meaning of life,” says Bangkok-based artist Naraphat Sakarthornsap, whose use of flowers is central to his creativity and identity. 

Alongside Thai-Australian multidisciplinary artist Nathan Beard, he’s one of two 2024 recipients of the Debra Porch Award: Visual Arts Residency, an annual program partnering SAC Gallery in Bangkok, UNSW Galleries in Sydney and Creative Australia to honour the late artist, teacher and researcher, Debra Porch. 

The six-week reciprocal residencies immersed them in different cultural contexts, including curatorial and research support, local arts community networking and studio access, without the pressure of exhibition deadlines, allowing them time to explore their creative practices in new ways. 

The inherent slipperiness of ‘Thainess’ as a concept makes it quite ripe creatively to use as a subject.

Beard grew up in Boorloo (Perth), far from his mother’s home province of Nakhon Nayok but deeply connected to her culture. 

“The house was always buzzing with Thai aunties, Thai food. I’d go to Buddhist temples and Thai stores in Perth with her and see how a sense of culture was maintained away from her homeland.” 

It fuelled a fascination with “how culture is constructed and how meaning is produced”; the idea of ‘Thainess’ – shaped by shifting dynamics of family biography, globalisation, colonialism and demand from collectors – is central to his work. 

While his family archives and his mother’s collection of Thai artefacts were an early inspiration, Beard was drawn to research the provenance and colonial legacies of Thai artefacts in Australian collections because of a lack of visibility or public access to many items held in western institutions. 

“I’m interested in who gets to speak for whom in circumstances that venerate that environment. And finding creative ways of trying to confront it or challenge it.” 

His research took him into the substantial archive from the now-defunct David Jones Art Gallery, held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and in December 2024, Beard travelled to Bangkok to fill knowledge gaps in his research.  

Finding reluctance to discuss the history of how items ended up in western collections, he instead spoke with Thai collectors, fabricators of replicas and forgeries, and the Thai Government’s Fine Arts Department to explore “this idea of circulation and demand” and “luxury taste” for Thai artefacts outside of their traditional contexts. 

Beard’s residency research also informed a sculptural work – produced for the TarraWarra Biennial 2025 – of three pairs of hands cradling patinated bronze deity heads atop wooden packing crates. 

The heads were cast at a Thai bronze foundry known for reproducing antiques, using 3D prints sourced through his research. Silicone casts of Beard’s hands are tinted blue to evoke museum nitrile gloves. 

The works – titled 1952,1215.1, 1952,1215.4 and 1963,1016.12 in the clinical style of institutional accession numbers – offer a wry reflection on the murky provenance of antiquities, their authenticity and cultural context when removed from their origins. 

“They’re manipulated into different positions from Thai head massage, as if they were offering some kind of healing or restorative gesture to material denied visibility or only allowed conditional access,” he says. 

As a young boy, before I understood my identity as a gay man, I was drawn to drawing female cartoon characters and flowers.

From an early age, Sakarthornsap connected to nature, shaping his sense of identity and artistic themes. He grew up on the outskirts of Bangkok in a neighbourhood once surrounded by orchards, spending summers with his aunt in Surin province, a remote area in eastern Thailand filled with rice fields and unique plants. 

“Her house had shelves packed with books on plants and herbs,” he says. “I vividly remember pouring over every book, memorising the images and names of flowers. One day, at a flower market with my family, I could name almost every flower. My family was stunned.” 

His early works were intimate explorations of identity that grew into social commentaries. 

“Initially, I used them to express painful memories, feelings of rejection, and the need to hide my sexual identity,” he says. 

“Over time, my art and my flowers became a bridge for understanding. Today, my work explores broader social issues I’ve experienced firsthand, such as class division, social exclusion and various forms of inequality.” 

Naraphat’s work is both temporary and enduring – a commentary on fragility and power. His installation pieces pop with colour, texture and structure, changing as flora ages against static man-made objects. His photography captures floral arrangements as moments in time, often set against haunting dark backgrounds. 

Sakarthornsap applied for the award because of Australia’s “rich human and botanical diversity” and the chance to deepen his knowledge of native flora.  

“[It] was a life-changing experience that profoundly shifted my perspective on diversity,” he says of the residency, which gave him his first private space to work – something he had never had before, sharing a single bedroom with his parents and sister in Bangkok. 

“Sydney was the first place in my life where I felt a sense of belonging among such a varied group of people … The rich botanical diversity also provided me with an abundance of knowledge that I couldn’t have found anywhere else.” 

He explored Sydney’s flower markets, botanic gardens and national parks. UNSW Galleries staff connected him to artists, botanists and resources, including a local flower shop whose owners became collaborators and friends. “Every beautiful memory from this period is captured in every flower, every photograph and every artwork I created during the residency.” 

Residencies thrive when they are flexible and responsive to the artist’s needs.

José Da Silva, UNSW Galleries Director, sees enduring connections as the program’s success. 

“The most valuable outcome is access to new experiences and relationship-building rather than creating new work. Establishing strong local connections enables the residency experience to resonate long after it ends.” 

Da Silva says the program honours Debra Porch’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific and the way residencies shaped her own practice. 

For Thai and Australian artists alike, the program provides a pathway to engage with the varied cultural sectors of both countries and build greater understanding across art and life.

Sakarthornsap agrees.  

“This exchange of artists helps fill the gaps, providing a more equitable opportunity for us to discover and learn, to share what we have, and to gain what we lack from our host country.” 

Applications for the 2026 Debra Porch Award: Visual Arts Residency are open until Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 3pm AEST. Successful applicants will be notified in November 2025, with the residencies to take place in 2026. The 2025 recipients – textile artist Kanchalee Ngamdamronk and multidisciplinary artist Mehwish Iqbal – head to their residencies later this year. Previous recipients include Dian Suci and Roberta Joy Rich (2019), Andy Butler and Claudia Koguchi (2022), Tintin Cooper and Camille Laddawan (2023).