Earlier this year, Chicago transplant and Bangkok resident Logan Bay started SUBP●A●ROHT, a zine showcasing Southeast Asian art. For those who aren’t familiar with the term “zine” – they’re do-it-yourself small run magazines, usually printed cheaply and covering esoteric and counter culture subject matter. The opposite of glossy mags basically. The first issue of SUBP●A●ROHT, out earlier this year, featured mainly artists from Bangkok while the second issue out now features work from artists around Southeast Asia. Flooding has screwed up the distribution of the second issue of the zine, but by the end of the month it will be available at places like skate shop Preduce in Siam Square and Shades of Retro bar in Thonglor. For more information on picking up a copy, check out his website Sook Yawd. Coconuts Bangkok sat down with Logan to chat about the process of making a zine and his thoughts on Bangkok’s art scene.
So you used all new artists for this issue of SUBP●A●ROHT? Was it hard to find new ones?
No it wasn’t that hard. Last time they were all from Thailand, this time I tried to use people who are from neighboring countries. Cuz I want to branch out, and I send copies to each artist in different countries so that’s good.
Did you start SUBP●A●ROHT yourself? Was it all your idea?
Me and my wife started it. It was just something we wanted to do. It was one of those things I think we’d been here long enough where everyone has some fake business plan. And I was kinda like, sometimes you have to just do something because you like it, even if it’s going to lose money, you know? I wanna put out a magazine and promote arts, so yea.
Well it’s great. What were your inspirations? American zines or what?
Yea, because I used to manage a zine bookstore in Chicago for five years, Quimby’s. Now it’s like 21 years old, which is crazy. So when I first moved here I was always sad there was no printed ephemera. I realize it’s a tropical climate so paper is not necessarily the greatest. But people still respond to the tactile. I’m all about starting tactile things. And then also, part of doing this too, with the first one I got some funding to send it back to the States for Printer’s Ball. And the idea too, is to see these go internationally. To be honest, I like passing them out in Bangkok and I hope that that gets people excited but I think that the bigger audience is outside of the country. It’s gonna be more the Europeans and people who are nerdy about zines and hopefully it will get them excited about the artists who work over here. Because people don’t know about the artists here.
How much experiences did you have with making a zine? Had you made one before? How did you come up with the layout and choose the paper?
I’ve done lots of small zines. I did a ghost comic zine and I did photo zines back in the day. This is the first time I’ve done an offset printing. This is a pretty standard format. A lot of other zines in the States are similar to this with an offset one color style, because it’s usually pretty cheap. It’s just a cool format. And I found a printer that does a really good job in Bangkok. I was kinda shocked how good the printing is. In some ways, I almost wanted something that would be a little bit jankier. I was imagining something more like the lotto number sheets you always see for sale here. But then also like dealing with that printer and trying to explain that you’re doing some weird, oversize thing… they get it but they’re kinda like, “What are you doing?” So I can’t imagine going to somewhere like Chinatown, to some offset shop and saying, “OK I wanna make this thing with these pictures on lottery paper.”
That would be cool to do it on the lottery paper though. So each issue has one color mainly?
Well the first issue was purple and yellow. Depends on the content. Since this one’s monsters, red and black is pretty demonic and kinda evil. This one’s super crazy. Puck is awesome. In this one by Puck there’s tons of Thai puns and jokes and monsters that I don’t even know. Everyone has been going through it and recognizing them.
How do you think the art scene in Bangkok compares to other cities around the world? And Chicago where you’re from?
Well, I think the positive thing is that everything is wide open. There’s definitely a fine arty world, but you can do what you want because there’s no real precedent for what’s going on. So it’s really kinda just organizing and promoting and figuring where to make things interesting. I think one reason I started it too, is because there are tons of talented people here who don’t necessarily have the proper avenue to get their work out. My wife helps do the online part with our website Sook Yawd. A lot of people here don’t really have web presence besides Hi-5 or Facebook, so the online part is finding their info, making it available in English, hyperlinking to whatever has pictures that work. Especially in the Western world, every shitty artist has a website or a blog. And you don’t really exist unless people can see your work.
Do you have plans to distribute this issue internationally?
I just Fedexed a box to the States yesterday. For sure the North American issues are going out because Halloween’s really big so I know this will work well in the States. And then basically, as I get money in I send out the packages elsewhere. Now we have artists from Singapore, Cambodia, and Malaysia so for sure it’s going to all of those places. One place I didn’t get last time was Japan, but I’m getting that worked out for this one. Last issue went to Paris, New York, Miami, Chicago. We got someone in San Francisco now doing it. So I’m going for all the major markets, but it’s a small run. There are only like a thousand of these in the whole world.
How many do you send to each location?
For the States about 300. Last issue there were barely any left in Bangkok because most of them went out to the Printer’s Ball. So yea, a large percentage ends up going out of the country.
Did you send it to Miami for Art Basel?
I have friends who are there so that’s why I sent it. And that’s one of the goals too, to hopefully figure out some way to have a little touring show of Thai or Southeast Asian art. That’s why for Miami it makes sense. The climate’s the same, the colors. There’s a lot of ways to bleed it over.
Is the publishing schedule kind of whenever right now?
Yea, three to four issues a year. Basically what I can afford. This is probably the last issue until next year.
Do you have any plans to try to make money from this?
I think eventually I would like to maybe put one page of ads. But I’d only want indie businesses. I’d like to be able to go to someone and say, “Oh, you’ve got a cool cafe. For 3,000 baht you can help support this. Help pay for the printing.” I’m not really going to make money because most of the artists donate their work. I’m just trying to cover printing in the future. That’s secondary just to getting it done.
Do you do all the layout and pagination? Or do you have any help from the artists at all?
I just tell the artists what size to make everything and then I lay it all out. I take the images and figure out how it goes. I try to put a flow to the issue. But it’s always complicated in English to artists things like bleed and how you have to make the images bigger because they’re going to get cut. I always have a bit of an issue wit that.
Are you happy with the way the final printed version turned out? Any problems?
Like I said, I’m kinda sad that it’s so good. I was surprised.
How did you come up with the monster theme?
Because I like ghosts! Also, the thai word for monster is subpralat which is close to subparot.
How about the original SUBP●A●ROHT name?
Here’s in Thailand there’s an idiom da subparot. about how the pineapple has so many eyes that it sees everything. So it’s kinda like the idea that SUBP●A●ROHT sees everything that’s going on in the region. And then also just because it’s exotic for white people, hehe. When I researched the idiom I saw that it’s in a lot of Southeast Asian countries, the eyes of the pineapple.
How did you connect with the artists from Singapore and Cambodia?
Just wrote them emails. I’d seen there work online. I went to Singapore a year ago and picked up some flyers with artist Cherry O’s work. Overall everyone’s been super eager to do it for basically no pay.
Do any of the artists make a living from their work?
Oh yea. The guy Puck in the center is huge. He has a whole line of shirts for Err-Orr the T-shirt brand and he helps do comic book stuff. He does tons of paid illustration. The guy from Malaysia did a really cool thing for Malaysia Esquire. He drew the backdrop for a photo shoot. They’re all professional artists.
