Ariya Kitticharoenwiwat manipulates metal into living creatures to comment on the environmental crisis

Ariya Kitticharoenwiwat has long let animals speak his mind for him, with stainlesssteel eagles, fish and elephants chastising man for being greedy or the US for invading Iraq.

The birds are back for his second solo show, "The Freeze", at the Surapon Gallery, and they're worried about the environment.

"I'm familiar with birds because I see them every day - their anatomy is what I most easily recognise," says the art instructor at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology.

The steel birds and water lilies symbolise living creatures, while resin shaped into ripples and cyclones illustrate the effects of global warming.

"I grew up in a riverside house and remember the ripples we created throwing pebbles in the water.

"I also remember playing in the ice factory near my house. The ripples and the frozen water inspired this new series, given the current situation humanity is facing, with disasters like the Cyclone Nargis, earthquakes and the melting ice caps."

Birds perch on lily pads, avoiding the polluted water depicted by tarry resin, or gaze hopefully upward at leaves suspended on their stems.

"Flying in the Box, No 3" shows a caged bird with three legs grabbing a fishbone and gazing skyward. In "Struggling to Safety", a bird takes flight to get free of the enclosing leaves.

"Humans always take advantage of other species," Ariya says. "We've never learned to live modestly. Now we're learning about the harmful effects and yearning for a better quality of life."

Contrasting with the shiny steel of their bodies, his birds' beaks - "the most important part of their body for surviving" - are made of bronze.

Bronze is the primary material in "Revolving into a New Life" - a human head in swirls topped by a bird with a human face.

XTRA

"The Freeze" continues until October 22. Surapon Gallery, on the first floor of Tisco Tower on North Sathorn Road, is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 to 6. Call (02) 638 0033.