Sometimes, the only thing that matters in art is that it brings joy. Bright, energetic pieces that simply aim to make people smile. This is definitely Benzilla‘s sweet spot. His colorful works offer no shortage of good vibes revolving around an instantly recognizable, three-eyed alien named Loook. The cartoon character has been reproduced over and over again in an endless number of different interpretations. What started as a street art signature has since evolved into sculptures, wooden cutouts, and even a themed playset. “My style isn’t as much about skills as it is about application,” says the Bangkok-born and raised artist. “So I explore a lot of different mediums in order to keep growing. I started this for fun and I still really enjoy it. That’s my motivation, to enjoy it.”
有些艺术作品唯一的创作初衷就是为他人带来快乐，以明快色彩与蓬勃活力，让人会心一笑，这也是 Benzilla 的创作理念。这位曼谷艺术家的作品往往充满了大块儿的鲜艳色彩和轮廓，这一点在他所创作的标志性三眼外星人卡通角色 “Loook” 上体现得尤为突出。“Loook” 最初只是他的一个街头艺术签名，后来变成雕塑、玩偶和木刻作品，甚至被打造成一个主题乐园。Benzilla 表示：“我的风格更注重应用，而不是技巧。所以我尝试了很多不同媒介来进行创作，以不断丰富。一开始我纯粹是为了好玩，但直至今日我仍然乐在其中。这种快乐正是我的创作动力。”
Benzilla, whose real name is Parinya Sirisinsuk, came of artistic age through skateboarding culture. Thai art still leaned on traditional motifs when he was younger, so the art and music associated with skating became his creative launchpad. “Being exposed to skate deck designs was a very big moment for me,” he recalls. Eventually, he also discovered street art and was hooked. “I felt compelled to try it out, and although I had friends who were illustrators, I had no one to spray paint with and had to figure it out alone.”
Benzilla 本名 Parinya Sirisinsuk，因为玩滑板而开始涉足艺术。年少时，他所了解的泰国艺术都过于传统，而与滑板文化相关的艺术和音乐则成为了他的创意跳板。“滑板设计对我的影响很大，”他回忆道。后来，他又接触到街头艺术并沉迷其中。“我很想尝试一下涂鸦，虽然我也有一些插画师朋友，但他们都不玩涂鸦，我只能靠我自己去不断摸索。”
Thai street art was still in its infancy when Benzilla started painting around Bangkok, and he easily got away with quick pieces without asking for permission. Nobody cared. But now street art and graffiti are widespread. The fame of international artists such as Kaws and Haruki Murakami have propelled the art scene in Thailand as well, with local collectors seeking out local talent. “It used to be super rare that an artist could survive off art alone without taking some commercial job to make ends meet,” Benzilla says. “But in the past two years, a lot of the different art scenes have gotten really dope.”
当 Benzilla 开始在曼谷涂鸦时，泰国街头艺术还处于起步阶段，那时候当地部门没有人管，他可以无所顾忌地完成一些简单作品然后逃之夭夭。但现在，街头艺术和涂鸦日益普遍。在 Kaws 和村上春树等国际艺术家的推动下，泰国的街头艺术得到了发展，越来越多人愿意去发掘新潮的事物。Benzilla 说：“过去很难想象有艺术家可以仅靠艺术，不需要兼职其他工作就能维持生计。但在过去两年里，很多艺术形式都发展得不错，参与的人也多了，整个场景正在越来越好。”
Benzilla got a head start over the current crop of artists and has expanded his visual vocabulary considerably over the years. He made his first sculpture five years ago, which was a 1.5-meter-tall Loook. An agency had commissioned him to transform the character from a 2D painting into a lifesize 3D fiberglass form. Since then, he’s kept making sculptures, and his biggest one to date is 4-meters tall.
在同时代的艺术家群体中，Benzilla 独树一帜，多年来不断拓展自己的视觉语言。五年前，他制作了个人的第一件雕塑作品，那是一个 1.5 米高的 “Loook” 雕塑。一家机构委托他将这个卡通角色从 2D 绘画转变为真人大小的 3D 玻璃纤维雕塑。之后，他又创作了诸多雕塑作品，其中最大的一件作品达到 4 米高。
Benzilla has gone on to pursue new creative endeavors, such as designing television show sets and creating large-scale print work. Increasingly intricate Loook pieces have also been in the works, including a recent focus on canvas as Thailand weathers a new wave of Coronavirus. Through it all, his most significant accomplishment so far might be the Loook-themed playset in the center of a night market in Bangkok’s Chonburi neighborhood. It’s a giant head that glows like a lantern with big ears, ladders, and a slide. The platform at the top is also meant to double as a mini stage.
“There was no place for the kids to play, so I asked them if we could build it and they agreed. But we had to research safety standards before construction because we didn’t want to end up in the tabloids if it collapsed,” he laughs. The sculpture is constructed around a metal frame with a fiberglass exterior. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any performances on it yet because of COVID and even kids haven’t been able to play on it regularly. But there it waits, patiently, for life to return when it can bring joy to the kids as intended.
除此之外，他还在继续摸索新的创作形式，包括为电视节目布景、大型印刷作品等等，而他笔下的 Loook 也越来越精致、复杂。最近，由于泰国迎来新一波的新冠肺炎疫情，他又开始专注于画布。
Benzilla 迄今为止规模最大的作品可能是在曼谷春武里一个夜市中心的 “Loook” 主题乐园。整个游乐场以外星人的巨大脑袋为造型，三只眼睛闪闪发光，一旁配有梯子和滑梯；脑袋顶部的平台更作为一个迷你舞台。“附近没有孩子可以玩的地方，于是我就去问我们能不能造一座游乐场，他们同意了。其实最关键的是确保其安全性，我们不想哪天看到它突然倒塌，然后出现在新闻头条上，这可就囧大了。”他笑着说道。因此，整个游乐设施采用金属框架建造，外层为玻璃纤维，十分坚固。遗憾的是，由于疫情，至今这里还没有举办过任何表演，就连附近的小孩也不常来玩耍。但这个游乐场将一直耐心地守在原地，等待生活恢复的一天，实现它的使命——为更多人带来快乐。
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Website: www.studiobenzilla.com
Instagram: @benzillabkk
Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li
