1x: Tell us a little bit about this piece, anything immediate you would like us to highlight?
James Jirat Patradoon: This piece was originally inspired by a screen grab from Miami Vice. I’ve always loved the mythology of Miami and the symbolism of excess it can convey, I like combining different influences in my work to create different moods and so for this I wanted to combine Miami with a Japanese 90s anime noir vibe.
1x: Was this piece part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did it fit into that given grouping?
James Jirat Patradoon: It was part of a series called Ghosts Of Medusa which was exhibited at The Secret Headquarters in LA in October last year. Drawing women was never one of my strengths so I forced myself to do a series to see how I would approach it. I’ve been heavily influenced by Patrick Nagel and Sorayama lately so the series ended up looking like a neon futuristic fashion editorial, I’ll likely continue the series and collect them into a book.
1x: What materials were used to create this piece?
James Jirat Patradoon: My process of making images is mostly digital nowadays, I came from a screenprinting background so working in layers in quite ingrained in me. Eventually I stopped making screenprints and just pushed the digital part. I have a really short attention span and like creating images fast so digital suits me perfectly for that, I also wanted to give it a 90s anime mood with the glows and the noise and I could only really achieve that digitally.
1x: When was the piece originally created?
James Jirat Patradoon: This piece would have been started a couple of months before heading over to LA to do the exhibition. I was working on it between jobs so it took a lot longer than usual, because of that it went through a few different revisions to the costume and backgrounds etc. I think this was the first of the series that I started and the last to finish.
1x: Tell us a little bit about your process and how the idea and execution came about?
James Jirat Patradoon: Once I figure out the elements I want to combine in a piece I seek out photo reference and make a crude photo collage in Photoshop, from there I start the drawing and add or remove elements and I’m drawing. This piece originally had a much busier background full of plants and smoke, even a different costume based more on sportswear, but by the end I decided to pare it back and focus more on having detail in the dress, which was inspired by Colossus and Iris Van Herpen.
1x: How long did this piece take from start to finish?
James Jirat Patradoon: I was working on every image in the series at the same time, which isn’t something I usually do but I thought that by doing that it would make the series more consistent. It didn’t though, and just ended up slowing a lot of things down, so this one took about two months on and off working on it a bit at a time between commercial assignments. For future works I think I’ll just stick to completing each one start to finish instead of trying to multitask.
1x: What do you feel is unique about this piece compared to your other work?
James Jirat Patradoon: It’s one of my first forays into drawing the female form, my work prior was mostly biker dudes or the grim reaper so this was a nice change, palette-wise it was also refreshing to move out of having so much black and return to the hyper-colours I used to use.
1x: Describe this piece with one gut reactionary word.
James Jirat Patradoon: Air-con.
Dark Vegas by James Jirat Patradoon – Click Here To Purchase
1x: What are your expectation this year for POW!WOW! Hawaii?
James Jirat Patradoon: I haven’t travelled to a tropical location for several years, I’ve only ever visited big cities etc. so I’m really looking forward to Hawaii and hopefully fitting in a decent break once all the painting is done since I was working all through the holidays. I also want to eat as much Hawaiian food as possible.
1x: Without giving away too much, what are your plans for your mural out in Honolulu?
James Jirat Patradoon: There’s a kind of vintage cassette packaging aesthetic I’ve been experimenting with in my personal work recently that I want to translate to walls, combining it with some horror imagery, I want to convey this retro-future-doom vibe, hopefully it’ll look as confusing as it sounds.
1x: Any of the participating artists on this year’s roster that you are excited to see painting?
James Jirat Patradoon: The lineup is insane, I’m really looking forward to seeing Felipe Pantone, Usugrow and Lauren Ys. I’m splitting a wall with Seher One as well, it’s all quite intimidating actually. It’s one thing to see an artist’s work online but I’m super keen to see them in action and how they actually conjure their magic.
1x: What’s your schedule like after POW!WOW! 2016? Any big shows or events coming up that you’d like to share?
James Jirat Patradoon: I’ll likely be moving studios when I get back to Australia so I’m going to make the most of the huge space I’m currently in to work on an installation exhibition with some big paintings, sculptures, and projections. I don’t know where it’ll be shown yet but I think I’ll have a month to make it all which I’m really looking forward to, that’s all I really have planned so far, I don’t really think too far ahead.
1x: Where else can people find you?
James Jirat Patradoon: Instagram@jamesjirat – Tumblr 1 – Tumblr 2
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