There are very few pieces of furniture hold so much philosophical as a lamp.

A glowing lamp is "a guiding light" while a fading light is often compared to life at its lowest ebb. A number of Asian values revolve around the spectral lamp.

In the modern home, however, lamps are taken for granted. They are purely pieces of home decoration sources of light.

But interior-designer-turned-sculptor Jiradej MeemaIai is determined to achieve both home decoration and a source of philosophical inspiration.

In ''Light & Sculpture,'' Jiradej' s debut exhibition at the About Gallery, the wooden lamps on show reflect the artist’s soul-searching sojourn that tool him from East to West and back again.

At the exhibition, 12 sculptured lamps standing on the floor and cabinets or hanging from the ceiling resemble traditional utensils found in the rural bamboo homes of finishing villages.

However, these natural, primitive pieces also reflect abstract or surrealistic modern forms.

"I was born and bred in this culture" Jiradei murmured. "And I can’t run away from its influence. Yet still, I cant stick to the old form of fishing net or traps as my ancestors did when I sculpt. since I am influenced by contemporary modern art."

What he has tried to achieve Jiradei says, is to assimilate the old with the new.

Jiradej started work by picking up raw materials such as jackfruit wood, bamboo sticks, cotton cloth and paper. Such earth-toned materials add a warm, serene touch to his work.

"This wood and bamboo comes from people’s backyards. We can make use of this simple, handy materials surrounding us. We have the potential, we don’t need to reach out for something afar."

"I didn’t produce these lamps with a planned concept. I just picked up a piece of wood and thought about how I could work with it."

"We can then see our own potential and the thing’s potential. How we can turn things into something else we can use."

Instead of working on pure dimensional forms of sculpture, Jiradej prefers to give it another function. In other words, to give life to his art.

"I want to make my sculptures useful, so I simply put a light bulb in them."

"Pure and functional art should be worked together. The two elements create life and beauty. They also add a function to the work of pure art, so that people will appreciate it."

To Jiradej , light stands for life and soul.

"Sculpture is the body, the solid body of living things while light is the soul. Each single living creature must have body and soul. The two things are in separable," Jiradej stressed.'

The series of 12 wooden lamps are the fruits of two years’ hard labour and four years of contemplation.

The images come from a diary of sketches he kept during a soul searching pilgrimage to America, Nepal, Tibet, India and Thailand.

Left : Jiradej's first sculptural work.Untitled", a lamp sculpture with both a modern and tradional look.

"I love putting new ideas into my diary. When I was travelling , so many stories, ideas and dreams sprang in my mind," Jiradej said, showing a spiral cone shell figure, similar to the Conception piece in the exhibition.

After graduating from Silapakorn university in 1992, he set off to explore the meaning of life on travels that led him to San Francisco and the "born-free" life style that flourished there in the 60’s.

As a young graduate, Jiradej found himself confused. He yearned to build steel sculptures on a grand scale which were very modern and very western. But his ream he soon became aware, conflicted with his Asian roots. He eventually realized he couldn’t be something he wasn’t.

A similar identity crisis occurred when he was in the west. His appearance caused curiosity among western friends who wished to know more about Asia. Their questions made Jiradej realize he know little about his own origins.

In a quest to search for his own soul, Jiradej found himself exploring Nepal six months after returning from his one-year of American study.

"Nepal and the Himalayas inspired me to follow my dream of creating sculptures. When I came back I quit my job and started to work on my dreams," said the skinhead artist.

But before starting to create his "dream" sculptures, he wandered in a quest to find spiritual material. He went to Suan Moke monastery, the forest haven in Surat Thani, for a 10-day meditation session.

"I'm very grateful for those days in Suan Moke. There, I learned how to appreciate nature in a more profound way. To see the beauty of falling leaves and the wind. If gave me an insight of things beyond the surface."

After Suan Moke, he sailed to Ko Tao to live there for two months. He was following in the footsteps of one of his philosophical mentors, American writer Henry David Thoreau, whose withdrawal to Walden Pond later provided the material for a book on living with the minimal trappings of life. "I wanted to live life without much perception. I plowed, harvest and did everything for food and shelter myself."

He cultivated a lot indeed from this life at Ko Tao where he was exposed to lush nature and primitive local life.

There, he was taught the art of making utensils from wood and other materials close at hand. Locally-made fish traps became his artistic inspiration.

But before he started work, he went to India and applied to enter a sculpture school. Though his request was turned down, he treasured India.

"I met and learned a lot from a veteran Indian sculptor who taught me and important lesson - to learn from myself. She gave me an important lesson - to learn from myself. She gave me the tools and a stone and told me to teach myself what to do."

This seems to be the most important lesson Jiradej keeps in his mind when he hammers his chisel into wood. He keeps his mind focused but at ease.

"I'd like to see what will come out when my knowledge, the wood and myself work together," said softly-spoken Jiradej while shaving a new chunk of wood.

Obviously today, Jiradej' s work is propelled mentally by three different sources of inspiration - the philosophical thinking of Thoreau and Shumaker, and the Buddhist ideas of the late Phra Buddhathasa of Suan Moke.

He combine the hard masculine labour of sawing, chiselling and shaving with the feminine, delicate needle work.

His work is a combination of body and soul, west and east, yin and yang, masculine and feminine, and traditional and contemporary.

"Human beings, animals and everything are three-dimensional objects or sculptures." Jiradej maintained. "And these objects must have a light, a soul to guide them in their lives. We canèt separate the body and mind or light and sculpture."

After years of exploding himself, Jiradej is sure he has finally found the "lamp of intellect" that enlightens his soul.

Jiradej Meemalai’s "Light and Sculpture" exhibition is on display at the About Gallery until October 31, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. weekdays. This Saturday (Oct 18) the artist will hold two workshops at the venue. The workshop from 9 a.m. until 12 noon is for children. The afternoon workshop is for adults. To join the workshop and for more information call 623-1742-3.