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A French The artist has made allegations bangkok Hotel of Stoppage Her work, claiming that he painted nude figures in her public graffiti without her knowledge.
Myrtille Tibyrenc, known professionally as Mimi, tells Independent He was appointed by the French Embassy and worked closely with the property owners on the project at the Rose Hotel near the Soi Patpong area.
The mural featured androgynous nude figures amid floral and avian motifs, and was commissioned as part of the Krung Thep Creative Streets program to beautify the wall off Silom Road, Bangkok’s oldest and most recognized red-light district, known for its go-go bars, night markets and sex shows that have long attracted tourists from around the world.
tibyrenc told Independent He worked closely with Navmintra Vitayakul, one of the hotel’s owners, to finalize the design.
However, on the day she began painting, the hotel manager told her that nudity could be a problem due to there being a temple and a school nearby.
“I told him I couldn’t change my project at the last minute,” she said. He reassured them that the figures were sacred and “no genitalia were depicted”. He also offered to cover the lower part of a reclining figure with leaves if necessary, which he eventually did.
A few days later he learned from a friend that the nude figures had been completely painted over.
“I was really surprised because no one told me anything about it,” Tibyrenc said.
Vitayukul confirmed Independent The mural was completed and unveiled – in the presence of several visitors, including the French Ambassador – during the Krung Thep Creative Streets weekend in September – before it was replaced.
“Everything was intact, the graffiti was all there, everyone was OK with it,” he said. “Then, the next week, Mimi sent me a private message. I was amazed. I found out my brother had done this while I was abroad.”
He explained that while the property was co-owned by several members of his family, the decision to paint over the graffiti was taken only by his brother Khun Tai “without consulting anyone”.
“He decided to do this while I was travelling,” Vitayukul claimed. “There were no complaints from the temple, the school or anyone else in the community. It was his personal decision, based on his own feelings about Kalpana.”
The owner describes the artwork as a figurative scene, apparently depicting the Garden of Eden, with a reclining woman and a man holding a snake.
“I don’t find it sexual or indecent,” he said. “When you look at contemporary painting, it’s up to interpretation. But my brother didn’t want it to be part of the hotel.”
Tibyrenc said that the French mission later contacted local authorities and hotel management to clarify the situation and were told that Khun Tai had ordered the painting of nude figures while Vitaukul was on vacation.
The episode has attracted widespread attention since the artist drew attention to it in a Facebook post earlier this month, where he called the decision to create the mural “hypocrisy” due to it being so close to the red light district.
In response to the artist’s post, the Bang Rak District Office denied any involvement of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The agency said it had “no policy of censoring artwork” and described the matter as a “misunderstanding and miscommunication between the artist and the venue owner during the work process”.
It added that the hotel had made “some adjustments to make the artwork appropriate for the context of the hotel and the surrounding community”.
The statement was removed after public criticism, once social media users pointed out that Tibyrenc was not informed about the changes.
The artiste said she had only received a message from the hotel manager asking for her email ID, saying someone wanted to contact her, but she did not receive any correspondence.
Vityakul argued that he did not see the act as censorship but as “a matter of personal taste”.
“Censorship would mean covering certain parts with black paint or stripes,” he said. Independent“Painting over the whole thing is more than censorship – it’s someone’s personal dislike of certain imagery. I’ve never advocated censorship, and I don’t think my brother meant it. We think he’s being narrow-minded in believing that these images have certain meanings.”
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration claimed in a post that Khun Tai had asked to “edit” parts of the artwork so that they would “blend” with the original – but Tibyarenk refused.
“He lied about the fact that Khun Tai had contacted me. We never spoke or met,” he said. IndependentAnd further said that he never even knew about its existence before.
The administration also said that the two parties have now “resumed discussions, reached an understanding and made joint agreements to “refine the artwork” for Tibayrenk so that it “beautifully reflects the identity of the Bang Rak neighborhood.”
Vityakul said he would support Tibyrenc’s return. “She will come back to modify or rework the mural,” he said. “It should be the artist’s decision. He should decide the design and the timeline. It’s up to him.”
The hotel owner hoped that the event would only inspire “people to pay more attention to art”. He said, “Art reflects who we are and culture survives only when it continues to evolve.”
Tibyrenc confirmed that she was in talks with the hotel and embassy to return and paint a new mural that would satisfy her artistic vision as well as the concerns of the property owners.
“My response to this will be my new painting, which will hopefully be approved,” he said.