All of us maintain on to emotional baggage longer than we have to – anger, frustration and self-loathing for issues we did many years in the past are sadly a part of the human situation. That is why meditation exists. We all know we have now to offer ourselves and others a break, so it is irritating that the very artwork of letting go feels so difficult.
Artist Chanida Areewatanasombat – often known as Chubbynida, the “skilled overthinker” – appears to have discovered an answer. The Bangkok-based illustrator and animator makes use of her craft to launch the ideas and emotions she’s carried for too lengthy. Not that she will be able to put a finger on what she’s really processing.
Numerous it’s unconscious and primarily based on a hunch. “Perhaps letting go itself isn’t the sensation; it is all of the feelings inside that course of that I am most caught on – worry, distress, unhappiness, but additionally the understanding that typically we have to let go of one thing we have held on to with hope for a very very long time,” Chanida tells Inventive Increase. “It is probably the most troublesome issues to do, but it surely must be executed. It is a part of rising,” she says.
She’s not obtained all of it found out, she admits, and nonetheless does not fairly know categorical her emotions out loud. However that makes for attention-grabbing artwork as a result of the place most of us would possibly cellphone a pal and speak via our issues, Chanida reaches for her instruments. “After I create one thing, like a drawing, illustration or animation, I really feel a bit relieved,” she explains. “These emotions do not go away after one piece of labor, however I really feel lighter every time I create one thing.”
her work, it is surreal, typically amusing and stuffed with hidden that means. The fragile black traces add texture and a way of human craft. Nature finds its means into all the pieces. And the color palette itself is value a hero point out. Her looping animations add an additional layer of emotion. Delicate motion solely emphasises her emotions. “I typically see issues as ironic, and I benefit from the whimsy inside every state of affairs. To me, all the pieces has a fragile and delicate aspect, but additionally a humorous aspect.”
It wasn’t till her second yr at college that illustration correctly clicked for her. However after ending her diploma, one thing shifted. “To be trustworthy, I felt very misplaced,” she says. “I had already been working within the area, however I felt that I wished to be greater than I used to be; I simply did not understand how.” It meant she stopped posting her work fully for years. “I had no concept what I used to be doing. I solely knew that the work did not really feel like me anymore.”
Then got here a transfer the world over for a grasp’s at Kingston College in London, which unexpectedly kickstarted a model new chapter. “I merely went there with an open thoughts,” she says. “That have modified my complete life. It modified the way in which I noticed my work and my inventive course of, and, surprisingly, it additionally modified the way in which I noticed myself.”
She credit the type professors at Kingston for serving to her get there. However largely, residing alone in a brand new nation taught her to turn into self-reliant. “It introduced me again to myself,” she provides. “If I hadn’t gone there, I may not nonetheless be working in illustration and doing different issues I like right now.”
As we speak, Chanida strikes between gouache, oil pastels, collage, digital work and animation. It does not matter what medium she makes use of – it simply has to match the message. A single picture is commonly sufficient. But when she feels there is a larger story to inform, she’ll make her artwork transfer.
You can too spot her sense of humour in her work, with titles like Fishy and Spicy or Head Heist. However these names come from a behavior of distilling large, shapeless emotions into single key phrases. A course of that conjures up what she attracts. “After I’m taken with or eager about one thing, it first exists as a sort of mass in my thoughts, and I attempt to discover the key phrase that communicates the sensation most precisely,” she says.
Which brings us to the “visible diaries” she likes to make. It is a extra private a part of her follow that has made its means into exhibitions in Thailand – one thing she says makes her really feel fairly susceptible. “I by no means understand how folks will reply or what they’re going to assume,” she admits. “However for me, exhibitions are a means of sharing one thing with others. I really feel that if I am not deeply linked to what I wish to inform, the sensation behind it will not come via.”
There’s such a factor as being too trustworthy and exposing, so Chanida builds some safety into her work. “I by no means attempt to make my work instantly readable. I typically use symbols and surreal imagery, permitting the work to speak via a sense or ambiance fairly than clearly revealing what all the pieces means or who it is about. This enables me to really feel snug sharing one thing private whereas nonetheless leaving area for folks to interpret the work in their very own means.”
Today, Chanida’s work travels far past Thailand, as she’s now represented by London company POCKO, however she’s additionally seeing extra alternatives for different native creatives in Bangkok.
“Not too long ago, I’ve seen such a variety of labor from youthful artists. They’re exploring attention-grabbing methods of storytelling, experimenting with completely different mediums and changing into extra assured in expressing issues in their very own methods. In contrast with once I was youthful, there are additionally many extra potentialities for making use of artwork throughout completely different areas of design in Thailand.”
Chanida is at the moment making ready for a brand new exhibition at Ó! Galeria, an illustration gallery in Porto, opening in January. And he or she’s persevering with her long-term character design mission Chu-Billiken – a personality from Osaka created for Japanese agency Tamurakoma, launched earlier in 2026 and now being rolled out worldwide.
There are secret tasks, too, resulting from be revealed in 2027. “So, want me luck!” she says. We’ll positively be rooting for her—all of the feels.
