Phanganist interviews Richard who runs Pumayana Gallery in Ban Kai and now also Thong Sala with his partner Anne.
An amazing shop with some eye opening artwork...
What is your Koh Phangan story?
I will have been in Koh Phangan for five years next January. We came from Chang Mai where we had a two metre place at the night market to sell our first Pumayana tee shirt collection.
Slowly slowly, one by one, we met party people at this market who told us ‘why don't you go to Koh Phangan to sell your stuff, Phangan should be better for you’ so we started to think about it…
So it is one artist that designs all of the art…
We work with only one artist yes, ‘Pumayana’ which means ‘I am a Black Puma (Panther)’ in Southern American language, Quechua, although he is from France.
Nine years ago I met my girlfriend Anne, then we decided to go to India to visit Goa and other places like Hampi, Varanasi and Nepal.
One nice morning at The German Bakery in Goa, we saw a Pumayana design (Boddhisatva - the Buddhas Mandala) displayed on the wall and it gave me kind of a flash.
An idea clicked in my head and by luck, six months later, I saw again exactly these pictures at a French Festival but this time, fortunately with the artist, Aurelien Floret otherwise known as Pumayana, present himself in the shop.
So I asked him if we could work together. He makes the designs and we take care of the development on the different supports like t shirts, posters, canvas , tapestry/banners, pillows, etc…
So on his behalf can you explain his work for us…
The inspiration comes from Pumayana’s experience with his spiritual life including meditation, dreamwork, healing work, shamanism, journeys in different cultures and the use of different entheogenics while exploring his own consciousness.
He has the gift to create some snapshots from his experiences and translate his vision into some artwork.
His creations are hand drawings mixed with digital drawing. He uses different computer tools to create his final artwork .
He has a big knowledge of symbolism, Sacred Geometry and human culture from the five continents, especially Asia, South America and Buddhist culture, all his artwork is about Spreading the Light, Peace and Balance for the Body Mind and Spirit.
How did your shop in Ban Kai begin?
It began after the Experience festival 2011 where we shared a shop with Moontribe.
After the festival we arrived to Phangan on the 3rd of January and found our first shop on the 4th of January. Then we ran to Chang Mai to pick up all our stuff and back to Phangan to open the shop on the 10th of January.
Was the location of the shop important for you?
My first objective when looking for a location was to not disturb the other shops installed already so I found a place not near them to respect them as nicely as possible.
You also take the Pumayana team to festivals...
Yes we go this year with Anne of course and Pumayana to do the festival season in Europe at festivals like Antaris, Boom and Psy Fi Festival.
It's the first time we’ve been selected to participate at the Boom festival. It is amazing news and we are now excited and in full rush to prepare it as the best we can.
Why do you think Pumayana fits so well with Koh Phangan?
I think Pumayana fits on Phangan because the comments of people who come to visit Pumayana Gallery are more than positive .
Many times they say ‘it's amazing, beautiful, we have never seen that kind of artwork before’.
People enjoy so much to look at it, it is a great experience for them, so after all these comments, which we are so happy to hear, we want to continue and do more to share Pumayana art with more people.
So what are your plans for the rest of the year?
We will develop more t shirts and dresses. We have been on standby for the past year as we have missed a tool but we have it now and will restart soon a clothing collection.
So are your team like a big family?
Yes we are very close with our Ban Kai employes and we take care of them like a family.
It’s a very friendly energy in the stitching room.
You opened a new shop in Thong Sala, what made you want to have a second here on Phangan?
We decided to open as we thought Ban Kai was very far from Sri Thanu and people from the North of the island would also be more comfortable to go there.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I think everyone knows we work very much during the week and when we do have free time we relax at home.
Anne likes to take care of the garden and most of the time I learn to write my own music on computer.
And what do you hope for the future of Pumayana?
Just continue the same as it is today.
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