Navin Rawanchaikul: The artist behind Shake Shack Thailand’s stunning art

Shake Shack’s first location in Thailand has been unveiled at CentralWorld and is currently adorned with a colourful piece by artist Navin Rawanchaikul.

Ever since the American burger joint announced that it would be establishing its first location here in the city, Bangkok’s residents have been waiting to sink their teeth into their juicy buns (heh). While it’s rumoured that the branch will open in March, what has officially been unveiled is the restaurant’s location at CentralWorld. It’s very hard to miss what with renowned artist Navin Rawanchaikul’s eye-popping piece.

[Hero image credit: Shake Shack/Facebook]

Navin Rawanchaikul and his history with the Shack

Rawanchaikul’s artwork, which marks the future first location of Shake Shack Thailand, features a colourful array of locations, places, and people that represent Thailand and the burger joint. A tuktuk, the classic yellow-green taxi, a box that has “Wonderfruit” written on it, Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer, and even Rawanchaikul himself can be found on the piece that’s reminiscent of old movie posters you used to see in Lido or Scala. 

But Rawanchaikul wasn’t just randomly chosen to do art for the Bangkok location. Shake Shack started in 2001 as a humble hot dog cart in what used to be a rather squalid-looking Madison Square Park. In an effort to raise funds for the park’s redevelopment, Danny Meyer decided to host an art exhibit called “I <3 Taxi”, while his Director of Operations Randy Garutti started the hot dog cart to accommodate guests. Rawanchaikul was one of the artists who took part in the “I <3 Taxi” exhibit, so his artwork being featured in Shake Shack’s first Thailand location is just a fitting full-circle moment.

A native of Chiang Mai, Navin Rawanchaikul has dabbled in a lot of mediums as an artist, including photography, film, and performance. He is the recipient of the national Silapathorn citation from the Thai Ministry of Culture, which he received in 2010. His works have been featured in galleries all over the world from the Palais de Tokyo in Paris to the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver. He also represented Thailand at the 54th Venice Biennale back in 2011.