Thertkiat Wangwacharakul's art has won him many prizes including first prize in the prestigious ASEAN Philip Morris Art Competition (2000) and the silver medal for the 2002 48^th National Exhibition of Art, to name but a few. His chosen surface material distinguishes him from his contemporaries, for he uses sheets of aluminium which are treated and scratched to give an aged, corroded effect that emphasizes the mood he is trying to convey; that of poverty and living hand to mouth in the big, dirty city. In the artists own words, In the city, some people have great wealth, but the majority of the people struggle. I would like to present the lifestyle of those people who leave their home towns to work outside on the road, in the big pollution. As they work, they are not only sick from the dust, heat, exhaust fumes and chemicals, but they are homesick as well. However, they are rich in hope, as they wait for that big opportunity to come along.