Ping Sasinan
How did your journey in illustration and comics begin?
I have always been fascinated by books which tell its story through pictures (children books, comics, manga, etc.) since I was really young, and always picked a pencil and draw in my free time. I think comics is the perfect combination of what I love, which is drawing and storytelling, however I have also been told that being an artist, especially a comic artist, in Thailand is not a smart career option. Despite all of that, I enrolled in a communication design program for undergraduates while keeping my dream of making comics close to me. Not until the last year of my University, I decided to make my own original comic as my senior project. I found joy in making it (as much as I struggled), but unfortunately my comic did not have a chance to properly exhibit due to covid lockdown. I took a break for a few years after graduation. Many of my peers pursued graphic design and other design avenues, but I knew those are not what I wanted to do. However I produced some more short comics zines during those times. As covid quarantine lifted, the art market in Bangkok became popular. Being one of my bucket lists and for the lack of a better plan, I decided to try selling my own art prints and zines around mid 2023. The reception was more positive than I first imagined, so I took it as a chance to pursue my passion. I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I love and promise myself to keep drawing and making comics until I do not have that opportunity anymore.
Thailand has a rich and wonderful heritage in comics. It seems to me that one of the special things about it is the way Thai comic artists assimilate local and global influences to create their own style and express who they are. Would you agree and maybe you could share some of the things or artists that have influenced you along the way?
I agree to some certain extent. In my personal opinion, Thailand truly has a rich tradition and history, but oftentimes not many contemporary talented artists were recognized or recorded unless they uphold certain qualities of relevancy and mass popularity or complying with good Thai morals. Thus many Thai comic artists are lost in time, many moved on to other careers due to the unsustainable nature of the comic and book industry. Many young comic artists my age, including me, are inspired from foreigner’s comics available at the time, mostly Japanese manga. Comics were also not given much importance from the older generation of artists, creatives and teachers, which I think is the reason you see global influences in Thai comic artists as we are looking for inspiration from other places, especially in the age of the internet where the world is more connected than ever. Thai culture is in constant fight to reinvent itself. Because of its rich tradition, bringing with it the problem of gerontocracy and the idea of how it is inappropriate to challenge an established aesthetics and belief system. At least for me, I don’t think my style would be considered uniquely Thai, but I like the idea of carving space for my own experiences through my storytelling, rediscovering and reinventing what being ‘Thai’ means to me. Two of my personal influential Thai comic artists are Sa-ard and Jung Senarak for this exact reason. Their works often tell the story of a contemporary Thai livelihood, the story of ordinary people, which I found very relatable and really inspiring.
I think your drawings are very beautiful and full of detail. Your use of colour or black and white are both very strong. There is a dream-like, sci-fi/fantasy feel to the work and you are clearly drawn to creating characters and telling their stories. Can you describe a little bit of your working process? Where and when do your ideas come? Do you do your own writing? How do you balance analogue and digital?
Usually my stories come from personal experiences, problems and questions I have at the time: my identity, my place in the world, and making sense of the experience that made me. I often start by having a concept first, then work the story and characters around it. Currently I found the idea of comparing western philosophy to my Thai upbringing interesting, since my young adulthood was all about consuming western media and think pieces. I tend to separate the story and visuals in different chunks, so sometimes I seek inspiration in my drawings from entirely different sources from the story. For example, my sci-fi comic, Ouroboros, borrowed its technique heavily from graphic design, by using the sharp line and negative space to enhance the visual. This was done due to the way I was taught in design school, as well as the constraints of deadlines. I think my visuals have developed ever since, branching out to draw more complicated objects and scenes as I have more time to work on my craft than during my university days. Recently, I have been into vintage children book illustration and creatures from mythology, so that is my object of interest for now. However, I believe the core of my works are all the same, which is exploring the complicated feelings and making sense of them through dream and fantasy, blending my upbringing in Southeast Asian culture with contemporary western visuals and ideas.
What do you really want to say with your work?
If anyone would take anything from my work on a basic level, that would be enjoyment whether coming from the story or from the visual. But truthfully I think I want to be seen and seek out connection. To put it frankly, my works are quite self indulgent in the sense that they are expressing my interest at the moment of making. Some feelings are hard to convey in its entirety, thus I found joy through creating them into a piece of drawing or stories that could exist grander than through my personal experience alone. I put a lot of effort into my work, so I appreciated it a whole lot when people came to me and shared their own thoughts and feelings regarding my art. Some of them I might never even consider before, which I found very interesting. However, all in all, my message is probably very personal: for my dreams, my sorrows, my frustration, my grievances, my love and joy to be seen and heard by someone.
What does Thailand today mean to you?
Thailand is, somehow, a part of me. Although I wish I was never born here and grew up as I did, it was home and all I have ever known. My experience might be a little unique as I had my teenage years spent in America, having a new language pivot my way of thought entirely. It is a confusing love-hate relationship for me. Thailand has its beauties from the long history of cultures, art and beliefs as I said, but also the trials of cemented oppression in its fundamentals to survive and maintain power among ones that possess them. It is also in the weird position amid Southeast Asia countries, since Thailand has never been colonized and much of the cultures have not been lost through time. However, it is not done through the lack of bloodshed, and worst, those histories have been attempted to be deleted from the mass consciousness. I wanted to be someone who could see the wonderful beauty of Thailand in its whole entirety, but growing up here tainted a lot of my faith in what this country attempts itself to be. There are images and certain quirks Thailand pushes out to foreigners, but as a native, I find it is hard to see its sincerity. I think I found the whimsical mundanity of the people surviving in a system that half-heartedly cares about them comforting. I dream of Thailand becoming a more fair and caring place, and that is what I do for now.
Thank you Ping!
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