Renowned street artist Parinya Sirisinsuk, better known as Benzilla, found inspiration in the pandemic lockdowns that enabled him to successfully launch his solo exhibition, "Midnight Call", after a seven-year hiatus.
Street artist Parinya Sirisinsuk, better known as Benzilla.
"I was not good at solo exhibitions because I was impatient and could not concentrate on creating several art pieces under the same theme for a long period of time. 'Midnight Call' is my turning point. Working on this exhibition was enjoyable. It made me realise that I want to create more art pieces that are my self-expression. I am a private person and rarely express how I feel, but art should be open and honest," said Parinya.
Parinya is well-known for his notable character Loook the three-eyed alien, which is also the main character in paintings and sculptures in the exhibition. The artist explained that "Midnight Call" was inspired by an idea that if a phone rings in the middle of the night, people feel anxious.
"I have a daughter, so I had a lot of worries while working on this exhibition. I usually worked on paintings and sculptures at night. It was quiet and peaceful, but I felt distracted with many worries. I was worried about work, health, financial resources and my family. Hence, I decided to create art pieces that expressed how I felt. I used to work on collaborative projects with many brands that came with requirements, but this is my solo exhibition, so it should be my self-expression," said Parinya.
Three paintings in the series -- Growth No.1, Growth No.2 and Growth No.3 -- depict Loook surrounded with trees and flowers with thorns. The paintings were inspired by Parinya's concern for his daughter.
In Growth No.1, Loook curls up like a baby in a womb. (Photos © River City Bangkok)
"Growth No.1 is the first painting in the exhibition. In the past, I was not interested in plants because during childhood, I lived in a shophouse without plants. After I began to grow plants during the stay-at-home period, I drew plants and flowers with thorns in the paintings. While I created the Growth series, I was thinking about my daughter. In Growth No.1, Loook curls up like a baby in a womb. The series conveys that the outside world is cruel, but everyone has to try to survive," explained Parinya.
The spraypaint on wood painting In Between was created with techniques that are different from other acrylic on canvas works. The artist said he intended to create a distinctive piece. He wanted to bring a cracked wall with a rough surface to the gallery which had only plain white walls.
"It is an experimental piece. I designed every detail of the wood pieces. It specified what kind of shape of wood I wanted and which parts of the wood that I wanted to overlap. Then, I cut and sprayed paint on the wood. In Between has a retro vibe with several layers," said Parinya.
Parinya earned his bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Bangkok University. His character, Loook, was inspired from his interest in Japanese manga and video games as well as alien movies.
In Between is an experimental piece.
"I liked characters in video games and tried to create my own. I drew many circular shapes and Loook came out unintentionally. I felt free to draw Loook because this character cannot be categorised. Loook is a better version of me; he is an ideal character. This character has no bias and is innocent. He looks at and understands incidents, but does not judge. Initially, Loook had a mouth, but I decided to delete it because I liked the idea of Hello Kitty who does not have a mouth since she is a listener," said Parinya.
With Loook's unique character, striking colours and innovative technique, Parinya has attracted many global brands such as Adidas, McDonalds, Disney and the Four Seasons Hotel to launch collaborative projects. The artist said that collaborative projects are different from his solo exhibition because the solo exhibition allows him to have more freedom.
"When I work with brands or clients, we have to find a common ground. If I am not comfortable with some requirements from the client, I will find a work around and find a way to accommodate the requirements, but in a way that I can still maintain my style. For my solo exhibition, nobody tells me what is good or bad. I have to depend on my confidence. It is scary, but I have more fun and have more freedom," he said.
Loook sculptures in different materials.
After having worked on projects with many brands, Parinya was invited to create his murals abroad. Among the places that he visited, the artist said he was impressed the most with feedback at a festival in Melbourne, Australia.
"When I work on murals in Thailand, I have to ask for permission from the building's owners then usually work quietly and undisturbed. Very few passersby stop to ask what I am doing or engage in conversation. However, in Melbourne, people, even children, paid attention to my mural. They asked what Loook was and talked to me about the mural. I was impressed with their interest and friendliness," said Parinya.
In addition to his physical exhibition, Parinya also created NFT (non-fungible token) crypto art on the platform foundation.app/@BENZILLA, which allowed him to create the 3D animation Have A Good Day.
"Have A Good Day is a charity collaboration project with the brand True. I created augmented reality for True before and wanted to try something different. It was a challenge to work on a 3D production for the first time. I had to adjust things until I was satisfied. Also, I am one of 35 artists selected by the new NFT crypto art platform The Meta Art Club to display my work," he said.
From left, Step and Heavy River City Bangkok
Even though his NFT pieces quickly sold out, his focus will remain on physical art in the near future.
"NFT crypto art is another channel that allows artists to showcase their creativity. I enjoy working on a format like 3D animation… but my main focus is still physical work. 'Midnight Call' made me realise that I want to work on my own exhibitions. Next year, I plan to hold exhibitions abroad. I am working on them and feel excited with the projects," said Parinya.
"Midnight Call" runs at RCB Galleria 3, 2nd floor of River City Bangkok, until Jan 2. Visit facebook.com/RiverCityBangkok for more information.
Loook is an ideal character who has no bias and does not judge.
