UOB Hosts Tactile Art Exhibition at BACC, Turning 2D Paintings into 3D

UOB bank continues to promote social equality by hosting the UOB Please Touch tactile art exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, or BACC. This exhibition is distinguished by adapting award-winning artworks from the UOB Painting of the Year competition into three-dimensional bas-relief pieces. The main goal of the event is to provide an opportunity for the visually impaired and the general public to jointly experience and access the beauty of art through their fingertips. This is considered breaking down physical limitations and helping to broaden the scope of art perception.

The Process of Changing 2D Paintings into 3D Artworks

This exhibition has selected 10 valuable artworks from the UOB Art Collection, all of which are award-winning pieces from the UOB Painting of the Year, to be created in a new format. The organisers worked closely with artists specialising in 3D works to develop the pieces using fibre and resin as the main materials. The creation process is complex and uses various techniques, including clay sculpting, casting, and incorporating 3D printing technology. All pieces are coated with non-toxic colours that are safe for direct contact, so that the audience can fully touch and explore the details.

Conveying Meaning Through Texture and Relief Levels

The challenge of creating this collection is the design, which must make the textures and relief levels function to communicate the story instead of the colours and shadows in the original paintings. The team and the original artists collaborated to experiment and adjust the details many times until the result conveyed the exact intended emotion. For example, in a piece reflecting a crowded slum community, the artist used sculpting and resin casting techniques to overlap various objects so the audience could feel the density. Furthermore, there are works that use differences in relief levels to create symbols calling for world peace, which the audience can clearly perceive through touch.

Activities to Promote Learning and Open New Perspectives

To make viewing the art even more complete, braille information is provided for every piece within the exhibition. In addition, volunteer staff from UOB serve as facilitators and explain the background stories without guiding the audience's thoughts. The organisers also provide an opportunity for sighted visitors to try blindfolding themselves and using their hands to touch the artworks. This activity aims to make everyone realise that a single piece of art can provide an experience and be perceived in various ways.

The Beginning and Expansion of the Project

This project first began in 2015 by exhibiting the works of visually impaired artists alongside the works of professional artists, before expanding activities to schools for the blind in several provinces across the country. For 2025, UOB has built on this success by taking artworks from its art collection, turning them into bas-relief pieces, and exhibiting them at four schools for the blind. Following this, the same collection of works has been brought back to be exhibited for the general public to view at BACC once again. This continuous operation demonstrates the organisation's commitment to truly bringing art to the people.

This press release is highly interesting for art lovers and the general public looking for leisure activities to open up new experiences. An exhibition of this nature provides not only enjoyment but also helps to broaden perspectives regarding art accessibility for all groups in society. Furthermore, various agencies or organisations can use this concept as inspiration for organising social activities that promote equality.