Panita Siriwongwan-Ngarm

About

Hi, this is Panita (ปณิตา)

A Thai visual communication designer, illustrator, and storyteller based in London and Bangkok. With a background in communication design and media activism, my works revolve around socio-politics, culture, intersectional feminism, cultural heritage, personal stories, histories, and memories. I combine storytelling with mixed media inspired by books, manga, series, and all other media I have grown up with. My creations are usually garnished with a touch of speculation and surrealism as it is my language used to convey the hidden emotions and conversations between time-space, human-object, and the lost archives.

My most recent project ‘บันทึกมาลัย’ (Malai Memoirs) is an attempt to weave together fragmented archives, be it memories, conversations, news, or histories using speculative fiction and collage illustrations to reimagine and shed light on the hidden female/queer narratives that have never been recorded. In Malai Memoirs, stories of struggle, aspiration, and resistance of Thai women from different eras are being told through different kinds of Malai(s) — Thai flower craft that is being gendered, classified, and intertwined with ladylike qualities, reflecting binary and patriarchal constraints within Thai Society.

One of the stories is inspired by my personal experience in a conservative girls’ school, while another digs into the sexual violence suspected to be committed by civil officers during an infamous Student Massacre that occurred in Thailand on 6 October 1976.  Malai Memoirs is an ongoing project, a tribute to all the women I know, and may not know, which I wish to continue unfolding more of their stories. It is also in collaboration with my friends and acquaintances in Thailand who donated their photographs to help complete my collaged narrative. This project consists of four-colour Risograph prints with old frames, an installation design, a voice memoir, faux flower Malai, two zines, and two accordion publications. For the last two, if you are interested in reading or publishing them please contact me at panita.siri.pin@gmail.com

Apart from my personal practice, I am a co-chef (!) cooking at  ‘SPILLLL’ — a collective of 4 ESEA (East Asian and South East Asian) queer women creatives that aims to bring a salad of cultural heritage, ecology, genders, spirituality, activism, and communal narratives to the table through multidisciplinary design and collaborations. We would love to connect with you; any individual(s) who share similar passions and ideologies, if you have any ideas for collaboration, please do not hesitate to shoot us a message at @s_p_i_l_l_l_l.studio 

As RCA does not allow us to upload more than four images,  please visit my other social media for more work and updates.

Website:
https://ppapuru.com

Instagram:
@Cabinet_de_pin