Juno’s Jungle

I first met Juno at the Bangkok Mango Art Festival and immediately bought one of her tiny artworks. Months later, on the last day of a trip to Chiang Mai, I suddenly remembered she lived there and sent her a message. Despite the short notice, she invited me to her home for an impromptu portrait session.

The house was a treasure trove of clothes, old toys, horns and other bric-a-brac that found their way into her work. Juno’s motto, “Reuse the past, recycle the present, and save the future,” was visible everywhere. Objects inherited from her family were treated in the same way. In her sister’s bedroom, I noticed her father’s old saw, transformed into a ready-made trophy.

I could easily have stayed for hours. Almost every object in the house could become a prop, and each seemed to reveal another part of Juno’s imagination.