A Cat Hugging a Fish: Explore the Artistic World of a Thai Farmer’s Rice Field

An intriguing discovery in Thailand is a rice farmer who creates art with his planting on a paddy.  The farmer, Tanyapong Jaikham, and his team do this using GPS coordinates that were sketched by an artiste.

The work of art is portrayed as cats and fish. In a view from the top, an observer will see a large cat hugging a fish in a bright collection of colours. Another section of the rice field also shows two sleeping lonely cats.

The beautiful rice farm is located in the northern province of Chiang Rai in Thailand.

In an interview with Reuters, Tanyapong explained that he aims to attract over 10,00o tourists who are willing to learn about cats or technology to his farmland.

“We’re expecting tens of thousands to come and see the art in the rice fields. At the very least, cat lovers should come to see it” he said. “Art enthusiasts are also likely to visit as well academics.”

“Previously, rice was mainly considered for consumption,” he added. “This approach allows us to develop tourism and agriculture simultaneously.”

The rice farm is currently listed in a local art festival to promote tourism in Thailand. This pushes Tanyapong to create viewing towers for smooth sightseeing on the artistic paddy.

Japan’s Tambo art is the inspiration behind the cat-themed art on Tanyapong’s rice farm, he explained. The Tambo art in Japan entails people planting rice of different colours to create images. This art was instituted by the people of Inakadite, a village in  Aomori Prefecture in Japan in 1993 to commemorate the history of planting rice in the area for over 2000 years.