This year’s winner of the SHIFT Award at Unknown Asia 2021 is Ball Piyaluk Benjadol. Her work “Loved and Gone Series” – miniatures that combine antiques, old toys, daily necessities, knitted work, and even hair – is this year’s winner. This award also symbolizes our respect for her and the recognition of a woman who learned to live with illness and sustain life with a passion for art.

In 2012 Ball Piyaluk was diagnosed with cancer. For several years she put herself into treatment until 2020 when cancer attacked her lymph node developing hypersensitive to chemotherapy, she passed away in September 2021. In the same spirit as the “Loved and Gone Series”, before 2019 she created the “Pin Cushion series” a starting point of working with old toys, miniature dolls, acrylic yarn, and silk pins. Both series are part of the exhibition at PRACTICAL school of design curated by Kanoknuch Sillapawisawakul in 2021.

Ball Piyaluk was a professor in Visual Design, lecturer, and artist, whose illness adapted her work format depending on her physical condition at each stage of the treatment. She explored the idea of memories and personal belongings collecting and working with broken antiques, toys’ parts, vintage tools, and even her own hair as a statement about her illness. Furthermore, she combined her crochet skills inspired by her mother’s knitting technique from a young age.

Loved and Gone Series, 2020 © Ball Piyaluk

Graduated in 1989 with a BFA from Silpakorn University, Thailand. Thereafter she went to Lille during the summer, in the north of France to travel and study French. Near ending of the summer course, the love of culture the language and an “au pair” job was offered Ball decided to continue staying in France for another year.