ML Mingmongkol Sonakul ponders her cubist perspective over dinner at le Café Siam with Saisa Am ranand
On close examination one sees that the cubist artworks of ML Mingmongkol Sonakul are made from disjointed, jig-sawed photographs. With everyday objects – a toilet or water droplet – as the theme, she snaps them from dissimilar angles and in various time frames, breaks them apart, then puts them back together like a puzzle, reformed and redefined. We meet the artist for dinner at Le Café Siam at the end of her Photocubism exhibition at La Lanta Fine Art in Bangkok.
Located in a delightful colonial-style house built around 1920 amid pleasant gardens, Le Café Siam has been renovated and revamped. The two-storey structure, decorated with antique handicrafts and artefacts, is under new owner Paul Anthony Quarchioni’s direction. The former chef at the legendary Le Normandie at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, he uses Le Café Siam to showcase his traditional and modern French cuisine.
As we wait for the chef ’s first offerings, ML Mingmongkol says, “My inspiration comes from cubism in which you reconfigure reality to look at familiar objects in a whole new way. At first glance you may not recognise the subject, but stare a bit longer to see a deeper meaning.”
The first dish to arrive is marinated salmon with coriander grains, lemon and olive oil. This light starter is followed by another, seared sea scallops, chorizo and rocket leaf salad. As we enjoy these ML Mingmongkol tells us that although she graduated in fine arts photography from the San Francisco Art Institute she ventured into independent film production where she produced and directed such films as One Night Husband, Invisible Waves, The Tin Mine and Alone. “Back then photography was mainly for journalism and fashion so film is where I saw more artistic potential.” As she finishes her sentence our server delivers another delightful dish, pan-fried foie gras with plum compote, a harmoniously rich combination.
After 10 years in the film industry she felt stifled. “Because making movies is a collaborative process you are always surrounded by people. I grew to want to express myself in a more personal way so I returned to photography,” she says. And as if on cue the main courses – steamed sea bass in caviar sauce and duck leg confit, rosemary crust and red wine jus – are served in uncomplicated presentations with just the right level of saucing. While enjoying these dishes, the photographer says that constructing her cubist collages involves a complicated process and can take from a month to a year to complete.
As we savour a dessert of churros con chocolate ML Mingmongkol mentions that this year and next Photocubism will be on show in Singapore, Phuket and Chiang Mai. While puzzles and hidden meanings work well in art, the meal we just enjoyed at Le Café Siam left no unanswered questions, just a pleasant feeling and the memories of wonderful flavours.
