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People have very different expectations of performance art. Chumpon Apisuk believes audiences like the interaction between the performer and the props. They may also like trying to "read" what is going on.

Chumpon should know what he's talking about-he's been known as Thailand's leading performance artist for two decades. He is also known for his activism on Aids issues and for his human rights work. He currently works with the Empower Foundation, which works on behalf of sex workers and was founded by his partner Chantawipa Apisuk.

Chumpon is the founder and director of art space Concrete House, and has participated in exhibitions and cultural events countries like Japan, England, Germany, Canada, Korea, Australia and USA.

This show brings together his major video and performance work since 1998.

So how come it's only now that he's staging his first-ever solo exhibition in Thailand? "There's a bunch of work I've done in a series over many years, and I wanted to take the opportunity to put it all together," said Chumpon. "There's also work that has never before been seen in public, and there are excerpts from an ongoing community project."

Titled "Mystory", the exhibition includes video installations, two photo installations and a dark room housing sound and video projections.

Chumpon's performance work is characterised by lively interaction with the audience and a good deal of humour.

The ideas reflect the artist's political slant and involve questioning audiences on their own views on political and social matters.

"Performance is part of our everyday life. You perform differently with different social groups," says the artist.

Naturally Chumpon's performances are adapted to whatever environment he's in. This is especially clear in one video showing at the exhibition.

"I did a standing performance in five different countries, and each time the reception was very different," he recalls. "I'd been doing a lot of indoor performances in front of a ready-made audience. The outdoor performances were totally static."

Armed with only a chair and holding an umbrella, the artist simply stood still, like a human sculpture. Sometimes he would hold the pose for hours, to see how the public would interact with the set-up.

Once people started to realise that this wasn't just a man, an umbrella, a chair and a video in front of him, they started to play along. Some sat on the chair, some played with the video and others came up to me and talked to me.

In that work, the performance itself is the audience. I'm only the object that made things happen. The artist is presenting the body as a means to arouse a response.

Chumpon's interest in performance art goes back to the 1980s. During the establishment of the Bhirasri Institute of Modern art back in 1986-87, Chumpon was organising Wethi Samai, an art activity that encouraged cross-disciplinary exchanges between visual artists, writers and musicians.

He then went on to develop his own performance art in his own art space, expanding it to the point where it is now, with a regular spot on the annual cultural calendar.

Asiatopia, an international performance art festival, is Chumpon's gift back to the art community. Held annually in Thailand since 1998, the festival invites an average of 30 international artists to perform alongside with local performance artists each year.

"It's getting too big. Too many people want to join in," said Chumpon.

Despite the large demand from international artists to join in, he laments: "Young artists here think performance art is old hat. There's a lack of variety around. Performance art is just practised by a handful of people who often see themselves as social activists too."

What are his plans for the future of the festival? "I want to encourage a more open platform that would allow wider involvement. We need to allow people to take risks. Open things up so young people break out from preconceived ideas."

As an artist, a cultural organiser as well as a community activist, what does he think of his achievements so far?

"I want to rest. I can say that I'm generally quite tired. Whatever I've done, I got stuck with it and it has shaped my life. Along the way, I've always asked myself-is this what one should do? Give back to the community. I'm tired now. I want to look back one day and see whether all this was relevant."

Still, it's hard to believe this man is really tired, given the enthusiasm with which he speaks about the next Asiatopia scheduled for the end of the year, and the dialogue sessions planned for his art space.

For sure, Chumpon's going to remain a force in the business of spreading interest in the boundless possibilities of performance art.

" Mystory" by Chumpon Apisuk is on at Tadu Contemporary Art until April 26.