What’s the project concept?
We invited people to submit their ideas in nine different categories ranging from food to music. Then I picked the ideas that best represent our Thai nightlife and proposed them to Smirnoff Global.

What are the nine ideas?
The concept for Bangkok is the full moon party, so expect that wild and crazy vibe known by partygoers around the world.

What happens next?
We have a fantastic lineup, featuring world-class acts like UK house trio Dirty Vegas and New York pop outfit Heartsrevolution. I’ll drop some tunes to warm things up as well. The party will simultaneously kick off in 13 other countries, starting from Australia. If you still haven’t got tickets, better check out our Facebook page now.

Keeping up with Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project at a secret riverside location.

Medium: Digital photography printed on acid-free archival paper.

How did you get started on this? A year and a half ago, I was walking around and I saw a lot of young girls. I saw a lot of Johns [clients], policemen directing the traffic... I was curious about the police, at first. I took pictures of the girls and it proved difficult. The girls wanted their pimp to accompany them, which I refused. The police would harass me for taking pictures. So I started to take pictures of the underage male prostitutes. There were less pimps to deal with, which was easier.

So you’re saying the police was actively trying to ensure these goings-on remained a dirty little secret?
The problem is the money being taken by the police. The police will collect all the boys and girls every day and fine them B200 and then let them go. 40-50 kids every night. That’s a lot of money.

Did you pay the boys?
They are all paid. None of them would do it for free. They treated me as a client. I would explain this was for an art project. They would be fine with it, because they need money for drugs or glue, or to send back to the family. I paid them between B100-500.

Is this pedophile porn?
The perception is always going to be there. If you look back at my career, I do commercial things. I am who I am. I like certain things. But when it comes to being serious in terms of art, I want to correct problems. To be honest, the reactions are mixed. A lot of people loved it and think it’s a deserving project. Then there was a group of people who came asking where to pick the boys up and how much they should pay them. I’m not going to answer that. So, yes, some people fantasize over the boys but most find the project powerful. It drives them to tears.

Has this exhibition created some kind of reaction to solve this?
It’s hard to find people who want to change the situation. The Bangkok Post did not want to run the pictures because of their journalistic etiquette. If you go out at Sukhumvit and Nana, you see 9-year-old girls getting picked up every night. Nothing has changed.

Did you control the light in any way, or have the models pose?
I have them pose without their shirts because I want the audience to be faced with the reality of who they are. I didn’t intend to glamorize, but I have been doing fashion for a long time and it came out like that. I want my work to be documentary, to be journalism. I print it life-sized, around 5-feet tall. I want to create a dialogue between the audience and the boy, the buyer and the seller.

Read more reader comments on Underage at H Gallery.

I’m a middle child. I’m used to getting bullied and pushed around by my older sister. I’m very much easygoing and free-spirited. Being one of four girls means I have to work harder to differentiate myself.

I used to get sent out of class for all kinds of reasons. I even got sent out for yawning in class. The teachers just didn’t like me, I think. I was a bit rebellious in school. I wouldn’t even draw the way the art teacher wanted us to draw. For the GCE O level examination, everyone had to do a still life piece. I told my teacher I didn’t want to paint; I wanted to sketch with a Pilot V-Tech pen. She said I couldn’t. I showed her the criteria for the O Levels, which clearly stated the mediums allowed and said, “The rules say I can.”

I’ve always liked to ask, “Why not?” Why couldn’t I do things in a better way? If I was better at drawing with a pen, why should I use watercolor?” You have to believe in yourself because even if people tell you it’s not the way it should be done, if you really believe this is the best for you, things will work out in the end.

I belong to an industry where everyone is domineering and wants to be at the top, but all I want to do is bring the industry together and get the job done. I’m not a dominant person but I’m really passionate about making my dream come true. If I wasn’t so easy-going, I wouldn’t be able to meet the challenges of the industry.

Being a woman allows me to be more compassionate and think of everything from others’ point of view. Women are just naturally more prone to listening and wanting to find solutions, compared to just banging on the table and saying, “No, it’s not going to work.” I think I’m a very open person. If someone comes to me and says, “Tjin, there’s a better way to do this,” I will consider it.

When we organized the Singapore Fashion Festival in 2004, I was so amazed. We had a Chanel opening gala and Christopher Bailey came to Singapore. For me, it was a great start. I said to myself, “Wow, imagine where we can go from here.” To my great disappointment, we didn’t get to continue with the festival from 2005 to 2008. The contract was awarded to IMG [Artists] instead. Of course I was upset. I took those three years to nurture my team and develop my connections so that when the opportunity came back in 2008, I was ready. I had only three people in my team then, including me. Now I have 18.

I always say, “Don’t let your setbacks kill you.” I’m the kind of person who will find the best way to do something and make it happen.

The East is the biggest fashion market in the world. We spend US$232 billion a year on fashion and this amount is increasing. In five years, we will overtake the US and Western Europe but we don’t even have a fashion capital!

I submit my leave just like everybody else. Just because you own a company doesn’t mean you can take off as and when you like. It’s very rare for me to exceed 18 days of leave.

Singapore inspires me. We are so small. When people said we’d never make it, I’d disagree. We’ve got some huge things going for us. We’ve got geography and hardworking people and it’s those two things that are going to make us the fashion capital of Asia. Why can’t Singapore be a fashion capital? I’ve looked at it since 2004 and I feel like we can. If anyone is going to bring together the rest of Asia, it’s Singapore.

What can we expect now that the reins have been handed over to you from Phillip Laffer, who has been driving Jacob’s Creek wines for the last 20 years?
It’s steady as she goes, with no radical changes. I believe in a progressive revolution of the style of our wines, in a way that meets the contemporary needs of the wine consumer. It’s a journey, for them and for us. I think one of the keys to our success is that we listen to what the consumer wants. There was a period of time when winemakers would make what they want and just expect the consumers to like it. Those days are gone.

Why the shift in Jacob’s Creek’s Reserve range to regional appellation?
Most people know that certain grape varietals are better suited to particular regions, so our new Reserve wines (such as Barossa Shiraz and Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon) strongly reflect the personality of the region, as well as the variety from which it comes.

So, corks versus screw caps. What do you reckon?
Oh, definitely screw caps. I’ve found that it allows the wines to age well, due to the slower rate of oxygen exchange. The wine tastes fresher, because it’s aging exactly the way it’s supposed to. With corks, it’s less consistent and quality varies a good deal more.

How about wines made for aging, as opposed to ready-to-drink ones?
The truth is, less and less people are cellaring wines now, which inevitably puts pressure on winemakers to produce ready-to-drink wines. But there’s nothing quite like that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you pull out a bottle after say, five years, and discover a more complex wine with softer tannins.

Jacob’s Creek Reserve range of regional wines will be available early next year at all good wine stores and supermarkets.

I was born in Bangkok and grew up in a Muslim community in Bangrak. I went to Assumption College, so basically I’m a city person.

But my community is like a village, even though it’s a ten-minute walk from Silom. I don’t know if it was strict. If you live in the South, it’s even stricter. But you have to study the Koran and your family always encourages you to go to the mosque.

I was shuttling between two worlds everyday when I went to school.

I turned down Chula. I got into their Faculty of Law but my friends all went to ABAC, so I just got carried along. I studied business there.

My first job was as a salesperson at a computer company. I didn’t have any business sense or interpersonal skills. I panicked. This was what I had studied, but I couldn’t actually do it.

I applied to the Bangkok Post for a very basic position. My editor allowed me to do many things, and I learned from the experience.

Going to the cinema is like being in a coffin. I love that atmosphere. I think it’s true of a lot of people who write about films: they love being in the dark and being hypnotized.

Writing about film allows me to write about other stuff. You can write about politics, culture and society by writing about films.

Not many Thai films deal with politics, even though politics is now so inseparable from our lives.

We just want to see film as entertainment. But I think cinema can be more than that.

We have very sophisticated political commentary and complex economic reports, so why don’t we cover art and culture like that. Even with just a page in the newspaper.

The government tries to officially define Thai culture. See what they support: traditional Thai performances or elephants or monks or anything to do with temples.

You have to let culture grow organically, instead of trying to impose a definition. The issues of hill tribe people or Muslim people, is that part of Thai culture? If you have this official definition, then you will  end up excluding a lot of things.

After 9/11 and the bombings in the South we heard only from the hardliners: the bin Laden types and the extremely liberal Muslims in Europe, who criticize Islam very strongly. We only heard from these two groups because they’re such colorful characters.

The voice of the moderate should be heard more. I met these two friends six years ago, with whom I did three documentaries about Muslim issues in Bangkok. We try to present another side of Islam.

In Baby Arabia [Rithdee’s film about a Thai-Muslim rock band], we tell people, look, Muslims can be fun. They can dance at a concert. They can communicate through means other than violence and religious strictness.

I feel this burden to explain that not all Muslims are bad. That’s why we made the documentaries in the first place.

Islam has to find a new way to talk to non-Muslims, to let them understand that we are happy and sad like others. If we have problems, it’s not because we’re Muslim; it’s because we are human.

The biggest obstacle for Thai independent films is the lack of space to present the films. Without a permanent public space, we cannot expand the audience. The BACC is a good start.

We need all kinds of movies, even slapstick comedies, romance and horror. But we need space for other kinds of films as well. Both of them have to co-exist.

We have to allow filmmakers to criticize the government and not censor them. We cite Korea as an example for exporting culture. But in Korea they can criticize their government openly.

I do not agree with censorship and banning [Insects in the Backyard]. Cutting and banning stand directly opposite to what the state is trumpeting about promoting the Creative Industry. They never talk about cultural issues at the ASEAN summits. They talk about economic issues, but I think that’s a big waste of opportunity.

I work all the time. I don’t have hobbies.

The best thing about Bangkok is the fact that this is not the best place on Earth but you cannot escape it. If you live in Bangkok, you have to solve all your problems by yourself. It’s a spiritual exercise, in a way.

BK: How did you come to open this shop?
Pranee: My mother used to work at this house when I was a kid. I’ve worked here as a housekeeper for years. Then their children went abroad so I had a lot more free time, even though I was taking care of the owner of this house. He suggested that I start a little side business, and I agreed, because I wanted a way to pay my kid’s school fees. So I opened this shop.

BK: What’s the hardest part about starting up?
Pranee: I had to find the money to open the shop. I asked for a B40,000 loan, which I’m still paying back to this day. When we opened, people were really skeptical about the sur- vival of my shop. But I survived.

BK: Why did you choose pad thai?
Pranee: I’m not sure. I just figured it was the best food to sell in Silom, where there are so many different offerings.

BK: Were you taught how to make pad thai?
Pranee: Never. I used to sell made to order food in my province some years ago, so I thought it wouldn’t be too hard to make my own pad thai.

BK: What’s your secret?
Pranee: Nothing special, really. It could be the tamarind sauce that we make ourselves every weekend. We just use tamarind, sugar and salt, but it’s difficult because it takes two hours of simmering, and we do 14 bottles a week.

Pad thai (b30), pad thai kung sod or pla meuk (b40), kanom pakkad (b30) 47 Sala Daeng Soi 2 (behind Silom Complex), 086-403-0106 Open daily 7am-2.30pm.

The list of titles that Italian comic illustrator, Giuseppe Camuncoli has worked on reads like a superhero who's who: Hellblazer, Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vertigo Pop: Bangkok, The Intimates, Batman, Captain Atom: Armageddon, Ms. Marvel Special, The Incredible Hulk and The Death of Dracula. With a career spanning over 20 years, the cartographer has worked with industry leaders like DC Comics and Marvel, showcasing his distinctive graphic and storytelling style.

His first American assignment on Swamp Thing was a pivotal moment in his career, the point at which he broke into the American market. “Well, you can imagine how good that felt. It was overwhelming, I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I was full of joy because it was a childhood dream that I thought was impossible when I was a kid.” Camuncolli’s works were so well-liked that DC Comics made him a regular artist on their projects and he has not stopped working since, collaborating with highly notable writers in the field including Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu on the Marvel hit Dark Wolverine and Vertigo milestone series Hellblazer, written by Peter Milligan. Having worked with some of the best writers, editors and designers in the business, one can only imagine the value of his experiences. “It’s priceless. You have a lot of exposure, and you have the chance of being known in the whole world,” he says. “Also, it’s great to work with so many cool professionals, from writers to colorists to inkers, and some of them were and still are my personal heroes from when I was just a reader. You cannot ask for more, really.”

“An artist has to be lots of things: Passionate above all, then hardworking, curious, punctual with deadlines, respectful of the other professionals working in the industry, and possibly easy going,” he says, when asked for his advice for future artists. “Comics is team work, and the more relaxed a working relationship is, the better your work and mood will be in the end. Be hungry. Be smart. Be focused. Always believe in yourself and never give up when things don’t go well. And be prepared to work really hard. Aside from this, it’s fun!”

Catch Giuseppe Camuncoli in action as he works on a live sketch at the Singapore Toy Games and Comic Convention on Dec 10-12. Suntec Singapore Hall 401-402, Suntec City, 1 Raffles Blvd, 6337-2888.

Who would’ve thought that the internationally famous production Riverdance started out as an interval show? Since it first opened to a standing ovation in 1994, the dance-theater performance has shown in distinguished venues all over the world, including the Gershwin Theater on Broadway and the Radio City Music Hall. 

How did the show get its name?
Riverdance was first shown at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest held throughout Europe. Customarily, whichever country won the contest got to host it the following year. Ireland won in 1993 and we had to host it in 1994. With that came the responsibility of putting together a production we wanted to show the world. John McColgan composed the music for an extended version of our interval show based on a major river in Dublin. He composed the music with a river in mind, taking into consideration how it began, how it ended and how it eventually flowed into the ocean.

Irish dance seems like a patchwork of influences.Is it inspired by other cultures?
When the great famine happened in Ireland, we began witnessing and adapting to other cultures. You can see some roots of American tap dancing, African dancing and Spanish flamenco rhythms in Irish step dancing. Also, if you look at the traditional dances of other cultures, you can pick out some elements of Irish dancing techniques. American tap dancing shoes produce clicking sounds at their tips, which is customarily a trait of Irish dance shoes.

What would you say is unique about Irish dance then?
What’s different about Irish step dancing is the way we hold our arms by our sides and keep our upper body strict and rigid. All our motions come from the waist down. It’s quite difficult. I’ve forgotten how hard it is to do because I’ve been doing it a long time but when I'm teaching someone new, I find it’s not easy to maintain balance.

What else should audiences watch out for?
Many who’ve seen the show before should be able to spot some of the subtle differences we’ve added to the overall performance. For those who’ve never seen it, the energy and myriad movements will capture them. The synchronization of the dancers is also amazing.

Catch Riverdance on Nov 30-Dec 3, Dec 4-5, 7-12, 2pm, 7pm, 8pm at Sands Theater, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave., 6688-8868. $70-170 from Sistic.

The rising stature of trance music can be attributed to the number of quality DJs emerging specifically from the land of the Dutch. From Armin van Buuren to Tiesto, Sander van Doorn sits on the same pedestal as these legendary greats. His debut on DJ Mag’s industry-respected Top 100 DJ poll at number 13 in 2008 and number 10 in 2009 has showcased his undeniable progression.

Both his recent release of “Hymn 2.0” under his other moniker Purple Haze and his track “Intro (XX Booty Mix)” have been receiving heavy plays on dance floors all over the world. “I am just happy that people like my music,” he says. But as much as van Doorn’s name is well known over in Europe, he feels that cracking the States is a different challenge, since it is still maturing in its acceptance of dance music. “The US is such a huge place and has its own musical culture like hip hop and country that dominates the airways,” he states. “It is growing all the time though and with festivals like EDC, Ultra, Electric Zoo and the Miami Music Conference, there are signs that the US is really starting to embrace electronic music, especially on the coasts and in the cities.”

As trance and electronic dance music has gained more fans over the years, it has inspired a great number of music lovers to take up DJing too. “Take your time and get your music and mixdowns up to a high standard before you start contacting other DJs and producers,” says the Dutch maestro. “If you do this, they will take you more seriously and you will have a much bigger impact on the industry releasing top quality tunes from the beginning. Quality over quantity—always!”

Prepare yourself for a quality set as Sander van Doorn drops it on Nov 27, 10pm. Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim St. 6738-2988. $28-33 includes two drinks.

Who is behind this new production company?
Polkadot Production consists of people who love art and culture. We come together with a purpose of creating something accessible and new for a younger generation. Sam Sao Sam Sam will be our first production.

How did you get to direct Sam Sao Sam Sam?
I’ve been involved in theater since university and have had experience in stage directing as well as coaching actors. But this is my directorial debut, thanks to Dreambox and the Polkadot Production’s members for trusting me and letting me have a go.

The play was first put on in 1996 and again in 2002, what are the reasons for this year’s restaging?
Since we’re just starting out, we wanted to do a small-scale production and Sam Sao Sam Sam is a perfect fit. There are only three main characters and the sets are also pretty simple. Another reason was that the play is very funny and timely, thus making it accessible to the audiences.

Who are the actresses?
They came from an audition organized by Dreambox. Some of them have acting experience but they’re all pretty much new.

Is there any pressure considering the two previous productions featured seasoned actresses?
Not really. We’re a small production company so we’re taking it step by step. Besides, I have faith in these actresses and their potential. Who knows, this could be their springboard to something bigger.

What’s next for Polkadot?
We’re looking to do something fresh and perhaps a bit more avant-garde.