8 January 2024
Imagine: the plane takes off and during the flight you look out of the window. You see rice paddies stretching beneath you. Then, as the plane moves over them, you see the fields slowly transform…
An artwork begins to take shape on the ground – a massive sleeping cat embracing a fish, with smaller caricatured cats around it.
What makes it even more special is that this artwork is formed by rice plants, carefully planted by a farmer through meticulous planning.
Now, people are flocking to the farm of Thai farmer Tanjapong Jaikham to see how he created this artwork.
According to him, he wanted to depict a Thai proverb about abundance: “There are fish in the water and rice in the fields.”
His goal is to attract tourists and cat enthusiasts to his farm. “We expect thousands of tourists to come to the farm,” he told the news network CNN.
“Previously, rice was mainly used for food purposes, but by utilising it in this way we can expand tourism along with agriculture.”
The project was carried out by identifying specific GPS coordinates for different seedlings, as indicated in an artist’s sketch drawn in advance.
As the seeds germinate, grow, bloom and cycle back to seeds, the artwork takes on different colours.
“It was extremely important to position all the seeds accurately. The rice will gradually change shades over time until the final phase before it is harvested,” says Jaikham.
Observation towers have been built in the surrounding area to give visitors the opportunity to view the artwork.
Additional sources: CNN; Economic Times
