Q&A: Thai Artist Bends Reality With Kaleidoscopic Saigon Photo Collage

Saigon is the latest city to join the urban landscape photo collage series by Thai artist and graphic designer Pariwat A-nantachina, also known as Big. With drastic perspective compositions, rich details and bright color contrasts, Big has re-interpreted city life, architecture and the urban mutations of metropolises like Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Marseille through large panoramic photo collages since 2008. In his upcoming exhibition, The Big Street, Big will unveil his Saigon work.

How and when did your interest in urban landscapes start? Would you say that you were you drawn to it from an architectural or sociopolitical point of view?

It started about 10 years ago when I was working on a book called Traffic Grid. I was in charge of everything including content, design, photography and illustration. That was how I got to know photo collage. It was just the perfect tool that worked out all the problems I had at that time. It was totally by chance that I discovered this medium.

You have worked with ink drawings and acrylic paintings and also have a degree in graphic design. Why did you choose photo collage as the medium for your ongoing city landscapes series?

I think that raw photographs, without retouching, are [the] closest way to capture reality. If we apply photo collage creatively to those raw photographs, we can create an attractive world of imagination that is still based on reality.

Photo collage by Pariwat A-nantachina. Image courtesy of the artist.

So far, your series has included cities like Tokyo, Marseille and Bangkok. Why did you choose these cities?

I don’t have any particular location in my mind. Whenever I have a chance to go [somewhere] [or] whatever strikes me as interesting, I just snap a photo. For Marseille, it was a collaboration with the gallery Art'psodie.

For your Saigon collage, L’Usine commissioned the artwork. Were you familiar with the city before beginning your latest project?

Yes, I've been here twice, and I had read and learned a lot about the history [and] culture of Saigon in Thailand. It has been awesome getting to know it better.

Did you prepare a list of places or things that you wanted to explore in Saigon beforehand, or did you just follow your instincts?

Yes, I have a bit of a list of streets [where] I wanted to go. However, when I am out and about, and I find [something] that catches my imagination, I immediately press the shutter without worrying about lighting, color, sound or composition.

Saigon has recently experienced drastic changes in its architectonic landscapes, where high-rise structures and commercial spaces have replaced heritage buildings. As someone who does not live in the city, what are your observations regarding these changes?

There seem to be a lot of convenience stores – three on every corner! And there are a lot of hip, trendy cafes and shops which give the city a great creative energy, which I didn’t expect.

Photo collage by Pariwat A-nantachina. Image courtesy of the artist.

Can you briefly tell us about your creative and technical process in making photo collages, in particular regarding the Saigon artwork?

A few things immediately caught my eye: the army of motorcycles, the fashion of street sellers, the local shops and the remnants of old architecture. Then it is just a question of putting them all together. I have no particular formula; it is trial and error. I just keep trying until it feels right.

If you had to pick one, what would be the most challenging creative aspect of transporting the multifaceted dynamic of an urban landscape into a piece of art?

The most challenging aspect is translating the stories of the street, [which] are so familiar we are blind to them. The challenge is to bring them to life, to communicate them with added dimensions and character.

Most of the cities that you have used as subjects have a high population density. Have you noticed any characteristics that are similar or drastically different among them? If so, which one?

High rises, construction, dramatic change and dense populations are endemic to cities in the region, but each place has its own street and pop culture that is lived out on the streets irrespective of the buildings in the background.

Which other city fascinates you and would like to visit in the future for your collage series?

I have China and Brazil. [They] are [next] on my hit list.