by Henry MacDougall
(click images to enlarge)

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Tawan Phoonchai

This month, I met and interviewed an artist and King George student, Tawan Phoonchai. Tawan’s work usually consists of screen-printed images on clothing, which he sells through his brand, EightyHD’s instagram page (see links below). Here’s the interview:

Tawan Phoonchai: My name is Tawan, I make art and stuff, like clothes and stuff. I’m still trying to figure out myself, so yeah, that’s my introduction.

Henry MacDougall: What are you most inspired by in your art?

Tawan: I’m inspired by, to be honest, this sounds so edgy and emo, but I’m most inspired by my worst moments ever. I don’t make art when I’m happy, I make it when I’m super upset, that’s mainly where it comes from. But I’m trying to fix that. For too long, I’ve been working on this super dark side of art – I need to get on the lighter side of things. That’s why recently I’ve been taking a break and just living life.

Henry: Do you have any favourite artists?

**Tawan Phoonchai, artist and KG student.** *(Henry MacDougall photo)*

Tawan: Right now, I’m hella into David Choe. He’s like a street artist. He’s funny because his art is really good, but sometimes his art is so trash and I love it. Like he doesn’t give a f***. That’s the whole point. And I like him mainly because he’s Korean. I’m like half Korean, and I can relate to him more because he talks about relatable things and his podcasts are hilarious.

Henry: What is your art about? What does it mean?

Tawan: That’s a very hard question for me, because I think that each piece I make is pretty different from any other. I think that the meaning is that I’m still an early starting artist, and so I want you to see a change in each piece, a difference.

Henry: How did you start making art?

Tawan: I started when I was a kid. I’ve always made art. When I was a kid, I was always making bad comics, like I remember I would always be drawing. But I sucked so much at it that I just stopped drawing. Because I have like anger issues that I have to work on. As a kid, I was so angry, like I was really into FPS (First Person Shooter) games, so I would try and draw first person views and it just looked like some garbage. I’d get so mad over that. But yeah, that’s how I started. And then I stopped for a while. But then in Grade 10, I realized that art is why I’m here.

I was so lost. I was like “What do I do?” And I started doing art again. I was like “Oh, this is what I’m here for.”

Henry: How has your work evolved since you got back into art?

Tawan: I would say that I have a better understanding of it, and I have a lot more meaning put into it. Before, I would just mainly focus on making my art look good, and I kind of realized that although people care about that, the process is also what matters the most. I learned to enjoy the process way more than just the product. And that’s what changed over time.

Henry: What does your process look like in creating art?

Tawan: I’ve actually been wanting to talk about this, it’s so funny. People will imagine artists sitting at their table... Dude I'm just in my bed ... Just in my underwear, late at night, like two in the morning just doing whatever. That's where my best art has come from, when I can’t sleep. And in the process, I will start and just have no idea what the finished product is gonna look like. I have this problem where I literally cannot visualize anything. I do not have a photographic memory, like I can only visualize words in my head. So when I’m drawing I have to keep doing it over and over again. And I’m a perfectionist in that I redo lines that people can’t even notice. I redo lines over and over again. So it takes a while to make one thing, honestly. But I love it.

Henry: When you’re designing a print, what’s your setup like for that?

Tawan: Usually it starts on paper. It’ll start with a fine liner. Then, I'll take a photo of the drawing on paper, and then I’ll digitize it on my iPad by turning down the exposure and doing all that, and then I’ll keep that, but I’ll thicken the lines and stuff on my iPad. It starts on paper with a rough draft, and then turns into a digitized version as a good copy.

Henry: What goals do you have for the future of your work?

Tawan: I have not a single goal honestly. I just want to create. I just want to keep making. Any basic artist would probably say they want to live off their art, but that’s pretty basic. Other than that, I really don’t know. Honestly, I just like making stuff.

Henry: Who is your clothing for?

Tawan: I think I make it for my fellow ... delinquents. My art isn’t supposed to make sense for people that haven’t gone through some weird patch of their life where they literally lost their mind. But they’ve gone through it, so now they can look back and laugh at it.

And I think those are the people I’m trying to attract. Teenagers with weird brains. That’s the demographic.

Henry: Is there anything else you’d like to add, summing it up?

Tawan: I would say, find real creativity. Don't always find your art from just straight ecstasy. You gotta be open-minded, and you can’t just be specific to one thing. You may not like that tag on your corner, but you gotta think about the whole perspective of it. Think about the fact that that it was probably some drunk dude, and he’s going through a breakup or something, and he’s like “f*** it I want to tag this fence,” so he does it. That's the art behind it. You gotta see the bigger picture.

**The Denman Market, a staple for KG students needing a snack between classes.** *(Henry MacDougall photo)*

DENMAN MARKET CLOSED

The Denman Market, a staple for quick snacks in the KG community, unexpectedly shut down near the beginning of March. The doors are shut, lights turned off, and the flowers previously displayed outside are now missing.

Many will recall the lines of students that snaked through the corner store aisles, trying to snag a snack during breaks in their schedule.

The Denman Market truly was an important part of the West End and King George community, and if this closure truly signals the end of its presence, it will be missed. The store is currently listed for sale for $200,000.

FINAL NOTES

SCHOOL PLAY: This year’s school play has been announced, an Alice in Wonderland spin-off parody titled The Doctor in Wonderland by Don Zolidis. The play follows new characters in the familiar Wonderland, encountering many of the antagonists from the original story. The show will be on from Tuesday, April 28 to Friday, May 1. Show up and support the KG Drama Department.

WATER FOUNTAINS FIXED: In March, the third-floor water fountain received a filter replacement, ending the school’s dip into a clean water crisis.

YEARBOOK PRE-SALE: Presale for this year’s yearbook has opened up. Purchase yours from School Cash Online (see below) April 10. This year’s yearbook is priced at $40. Students are also encouraged to submit their own photos to be included in the yearbook. Graduating students’ quotes are due on Friday, April 17.

GRAD FEE DEADLINES APPROACHING: For this year’s graduates, the dinner and dance will take place on Friday, June 5 from 7-11 p.m. at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront. The grad ceremony will happen on Tuesday, June 16 from 2-4 p.m. at the Vancouver Playhouse. The fees are $150 for the dinner and dance, and $110 for the grad ceremony. Fees can be paid on School Cash Online.

Thanks for reading, and have a great April, KG!

RELATED LINKS: