Flowersof Issan

A Nottingham colleague recently described Thailand to me (Pattaya, I presumed he talked of, he assumed that all Thai people can be bought very easily by the dollar or the money the Western tourist now bring in. It saddens me to hear how so many of us can negatively depict a people without seeing or understanding the real country and its culture.

This is a painting that portrays Tassanee, a hard working, kind-hearted, proud daughter of a farmer. Three sunflowers form the shape of a triangle, a symbol of fertility. The walled hills of shrubs and bushes symbolises her chastity, because for Tassanee and many like her, she will only give up her chastity when she has met the man she truly loves and marries. She believes that true happiness and contentment does not come from material objects, but from the family, the soul and the natural beauty that surrounds her. She is truly one of the many flowers of Issan.