Chayada (Bow) Vorakulsathien - "Chopsticks"

Chayada (Bow) Vorakulsathien

International School Bangkok

Chopsticks

“One of the most frustrating things about living in a Thai-Chinese household is using chopsticks. The utensil drawer at my house is neatly organized. The left side of the drawer is plain with boring silverware while the right is much more interesting. We have traditional Chinese bamboo chopsticks, Thai-style wooden chopsticks, Korean flat rectangular tips metal chopsticks, Japanese fine tips chopsticks, regular chopsticks from 7-11, and many more. When it comes to finding the pair of each chopstick, it can be quite a difficult task for me. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, which oftentimes I just give up pick whichever one I see first. Even though I always struggle picking up food when using chopsticks, my parents still make me use them and I don't really understand why; so one day, I asked them. They said it will remind me about who I am. The fact that I am exposed to many different cultures at my international school makes my parents worry that I might forget my own culture when I'm away by myself. This piece of art is a set of traditional Thai patterns chopsticks with a Chinese design paper cover which was inspired by my parents' worry. Hopefully, I will be able to find them even if they are mix with other chopsticks from other places.”