Joyman Gallery

Albino space kids no. 2

Albino space kids no. 4

To the Moon

You are your own rainbow

Tat or Nattee Sujithara was born in Bangkok in 1983. He received a Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts in Painting from Chiang Mai University in 2006. After graduation, he opened a solo exhibition ‘Color of Life’ at Neilson Hays Library in Bangkok in 2009. He later took on many portraiture and illustration projects, and also worked on ideas for next exhibitions. With more experiences in an art world, he decided to be a full-time professional artist and opened his second solo exhibition ‘Circle of Thought’ at The Meeting Room Art Gallery in 2019. He received the Triennale Prize in Drawing Category from the 5th Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing Exhibition, at Bangkok Art & Culture Centre in Bangkok. He currently works and resides with his family in Chiang Mai. 


FUTURA DRAMATICS
We humans often reminisce about the past, daydream about the future. Events that occur in life quickly become the past. The longer time passes, when we recall them, they become as if a drama scene that has passed, akin to the setting of building castles in the air from our pipe dreams about the future. FUTURA DRAMATICS thus serves as a meeting point that connects the past and future; a future that reflects the past, and a past that lays the foundation for the future.

Artist Tat Nattee focuses on conveying his personal experiences, perspectives on the world and society, and the events he has encountered—both joyous and sorrowful—in the past. Through engaging conversations with children and his own daughter about various topics, he portrays stories through child characters performing a role play similar to theatrical acts. Thus, he presents past experiences he has encountered as mirrors for younger generations to reflect upon in shaping their lives in the future.

Driven by the artist's love for Sci-Fi films like Interstellar, retro styles such as Stranger Things, and futuristic themes like Back to the Future, as well as retro music like M83, The Midnight, and Kavinsky, these inspirations are brought into his artwork. The paintings depict scenes, atmospheres, and color schemes blending Sci-Fi and Retro Futuristic elements often seen in films, music, and fashion, expressing advancements in technology and imagining the future from the perspective of people in the past.

If we define what Sci-Fi Art and Retro Futuristic mean: Sci-Fi Art, or Science Fiction Art, focuses on depicting imaginative worlds related to the future, space, advanced technology, or unrealized worlds. It utilizes concepts and elements beyond reality to create imaginative images and stories not found in everyday life. Sci-Fi Art is commonly found in various media such as comics, novels, films, and games, with notable artists like H.R. Giger (designer of creatures in the film Alien), Moebius (French comic artist), and Syd Mead (concept artist and designer from Blade Runner).

Retro Futuristic blends elements of the future and the past, often reinterpreting past perspectives about the future in contemporary times. This style appears in art, design, fashion, and entertainment such as films, literature, and video games. Key features of Retro Futuristic may include using technology and design inspired by past eras like the 1960s or 1990s, while Sci-Fi Art may encompass a broader range of styles and ideas not confined to any specific era.

From these definitions, imagining the future from the perspective of people from the past through Sci-Fi Art and Retro Futuristic styles resonates with the content that artist Tat Nattee aims to communicate. Especially, the styles from the 1960s to the 90s are often inspirational in contemporary settings, such as Cyber Punk style as seen in films like Ready Player One, TRON, and Blade Runner, as well as Steam Punk style in movies like Wild Wild West and Van Helsing. Hence, he blends these styles in his work, whether in scenes with robotic themes or diving suits in retro-futuristic style, and spacesuits showcasing Sci-Fi elements.

The exhibition FUTURA DRAMATICS displays over 20 acrylic paintings, developing an atmospheric experience in painting, adjusting the color temperature to evoke emotions, which is an advancement from his previous series. Using airbrush techniques to create a diffuse light surrounding the characters, an immersive atmosphere is created around the subject matter, resembling a theater where past and future meet. The scenes depict child characters in role-playing, which indeed, the new generation like them might encounter in the future.