PLERN VERN
Sutiphong Sudsang (left)
b. 1999, Si Sa Ket, Thailand
Phongsak Wansri (right)
b. 2000, Si Sa Ket, Thailand
PLERN VERN was founded in 2023 by Pongsak Wansri (TAWMAYUI) and Sutiphong Sudsang. Together, they are interested in creating cross-disciplinary art, blending their passion for experimental sound, electronic music, and the reinterpretation of Isan folk traditions.
Both artists share their roots in Sisaket province, where they grew up surrounded by this cultural heritage. Pongsak, a khaen player, has been fascinated by Isan folk music since childhood and has long performed in spiritual ceremonies. Sutiphong, on the other hand, is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans across media, with a deep interest in experimental music and sound.
Plern Vern’s work is built upon an ongoing process of collaboration and experimentation—merging music, sound, and moving images into a fluid artistic dialogue. Today, the collective has grown beyond its two founders, with Teerawat Wisuma (Tee) joining as a long-term collaborator, contributing to the group’s sound design and composition.
Sutiphong Sudsang is an artist born into a Khmer-speaking ethnic community along the Thai-Cambodian border. His cultural and geographical background plays a central role in shaping his artistic inquiries into themes of livelihood, labor, migration, and cross-cultural interaction within borderland communities. Sutiphong’s practice begins with critical research and documentary photography, which forms the basis for expanding into mixed media, sound, video, sculpture, and installation.
His work often explores ideas of marginalization, otherness, and the precarity of existence. In 2024, his work was exhibited in The 40th Exhibition of Contemporary Art by Young Artists. He has also received the Silpa Bhirasri Silver Medal Award from the 38th Exhibition of Contemporary Art by Young Artists and the Young Thai Artist Award in Photography in 2022.
Phongsak Wansri is an independent artist and cultural explorer whose practice is deeply rooted in Lao-Isan folk music and ancestral spiritual traditions. Raised within the ritual culture of Long Khuang Phi Fa (Mamout), Phongsak developed a profound relationship with the Khaen, which he sees not merely as a musical instrument, but as a spiritual conduit connecting humans, nature, and the unseen. He describes this philosophy as the "Religion of the Khaen"—a journey into selfhood through the dialogue of wind and wood, and a return to the essence of the spiritual self.
Performing under the name TAWMAYUI, Phongsak has presented his work at Plook Sook Fest: The Spirit of Life (ThaiHealth) and Bangkok Design Week 2025. In 2024, he released several sound works that blend traditional and experimental forms, including Liap Hing (เลียบหิ้ง): TAWMAYUI Sunrise in the Isan and KID HOD CHU DUB REMIX: PLERN VERN.
