What is the Phra Sumen Crew?
Phra Sumen Crew is the name for the locals who gather at Phra Sumen (Fort) to do b-boy dancing, breakdance, tag art and DJing. Then there is also a group for younger kids called Phra Sumen Juniors which has around 40 members aged between 9-14.

What else do you do here?
I am actually working on another project, called Mur-dee Panakorn (ancient warrior), which is an ongoing project to make different types of education more available to the kids.

How did you get involved?
Coming here gave me a more open mind, to know and talk with other people (which often includes many foreigners). It gave me some English—it’s all from here. So I teach the kids and then they make money, but I also teach them to share their opportunities for new experiences too.

What do you dislike about this area?
Sometimes the attitude gets a little annoying. It’s been more than 10 years since we’ve been doing this kind of stuff here. We have some sponsors that will help improve the park, but the park authorities won’t adapt it for our needs. We have been asking for more lights for years, but many Thais, and specifically the people making the decisions, don’t see the value in this culture so they never make an effort to help. Secondly, this area is a bit too mafia-heavy for me. Maybe not specifically here on Phra Athit, but closer to Khao San, it’s too much. It’s not real mafia but thugs. They are gangsters that think they rule this area. If you want to do anything, you have to pay.

Is there any advice you can offer someone visiting the area?
Come visit Santi Chaipakran Park to check out what’s going on, anything from dance to capoeira to exercise. Every month sees new events and competitions. As for Khao San, try to get out of the bars and talk with some locals on the street about the history of the area; Bang Lampu has a rich history in music and art.

What message are you trying to convey?
These kids are our next generation. They are our future; they also have hopes and dreams. They are artistic, and if you give them a stage to express themselves they will. Don’t stereotype and judge them just because they don’t have money and they are not in what people consider ‘proper’ society. These kids should be given full and equal opportunities.
Check out videos of Phra Sumen Juniors on youtube.

What’s your job?
I’m responsible for the traffic at Khao San, Rambuttri and Ratchadamnoen roads. I try to make sure the taxis and tuk-tuks park in an orderly fashion, make the traffic run smooth and direct cars during rush hours.

What do you like most about working on Khao San Road?
The fact that it’s a walking street filled with a lot of foreigners in the afternoon and evening. It’s great to see the happiness that foreigners get from this street. As an official stationed here, I feel that Khao San is one of the unique selling points of Thailand.

What do you like least?
I don’t really have anything I don’t like about it, except when things aren’t properly organized and orderly.

Have you seen any strange things on this road?
Just magic shows. Parisa Pichitmarn

How long have you been working here?
About seven years now.

Why Khao San?
My boss provided me with a shop complete with all the equipment, so why not? Plus, I get along with everybody else who works here.

How have things changed in the last seven years?
We were one of the first shops to appear in Khao San, and the only one to have survived today in this building [Buddy Lodge]. Back then it was difficult to open a tattoo shop because of a local mafia, but now there must be more than 40 places around here. We’ve managed to survive in this competitive business because we offer quality and safety. People sometimes complain about our prices, which start from B1,000, but our shop is set in a clean, air-con room. Would you rather pay a bit less and risk getting an infection in a dirty makeshift hut on a sidewalk?

Are tourists back, despite last year’s protests?
It wasn’t that bad actually. The backpackers have a mind of their own. If they want to travel, they will. What really affected us, though, was the currency exchange. We haven’t increased our fees, but some of the return customers thought we did because they get less baht for their money than they used to.

What do you think will be the future of Khao San?
I think it has reached the point where it no longer needs any new businesses. What I want to see happen is some kind of quality control over tattoo parlors. The government should set a standard and shut down all the shops that don’t live up to those standards.
Pumpkin Tattoo Studio. Buddy Lodge Hotel. 256 Khao San Rd., 02-629-4412

First job: Painted houses and mowed lawns to buy music equipment.
Rule for life:  Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
Never leave home without: Amex.
Most inspirational person: My kids and my girlfriend Sofia.
Best DJ gig you’ve ever been to: Haven’t yet!
On a night out you: Have more fun than humans are allowed to have.
Close your eyes and listen to my music, you will see: Fun—whatever that looks like.
Hum this tune in the shower: ”Bananas in pajamas.”
Last lie: I’ll never drink again.
What to expect at your gig: An awesome start to an amazing New Year for all.
Favorite website: www.stumbleupon.com.
Favorite audience: People who live for the music, dance it, breathe it, sing it and live it.

Technique & medium: Digital photography on light-box, screen, photographic paper print.

Why Bangkok Noir? Actually Noir is the French word for black. The title is inspired by film noir, which is a movie style that has roots in  German Expressionist  cinematography. It emphasizes  low-key lighting and  unbalanced compositions; this is the perfect characterization for the kind of mood which I want to photograph.  Bangkok is a world of shadows and occasional bursts of light that make it an interesting model for my camera.

What inspired you to take these images? Bangkok itself. Bangkok’s shadows always interest me more than the scattered light. Bangkok is often characterized as an erotic city but there is so much else going on at night.  There is always activity: you can donate a coffin for homeless people in a temple, get a tattoo, visit night and flower markets—and there is always a special food, bar or disco out there. The pictures are taken from everywhere in greater Bangkok, chosen by instinct, by chance and sometimes by planning.

What draws you to a particular image? As a photographer I always found it very challenging to capture the various light moods in Bangkok at night. Sometimes there is only one bulb, one neon strip, a Tuk Tuk passes by with red, green, yellow lights or sometimes there is a fully illuminated  skyscraper. This light, the reflections, rain, clouds and moon are always moving. Everything is permanently changing. You find an amazing location, the next day it has may be gone.

This exhibition is categorized under the five human basic senses, why is that?

For me, there is no other megacity in the world where the human senses are always this stimulated.  Bangkok is a 24-hour kitchen—a smell, a taste, a sound, something to see, to discover, and if you need a touch, get a massage or try giving one. Bangkok is the perfect blend of form, content and feeling. It’s full of shadows and light. I love Bangkok.

Parisa Pichitmarn