22-year-old photographer Tanaboon "Pengii" Yantapanit turns his lens from capturing from the trendy Bangkok party scene to a more serene side of town. Here he speaks to us about his debut solo exhibition Almost One Year Later Something Has Been Changed.

What have you been doing since your previous exhibition, Nocturne?
I had a chance to do a number of entertaining projects, like making a film and music with Superzaaap!, in addition to my photography.

How did this exhibition start?
I used to party a lot and one day I started to feel like I’d had enough of it. Now I’m not as hardcore a drinker as before and that change has let me stop and focus more on myself. I grew up mostly listening to calmer musical genres like classical. But when I got a little older, society drew me into the electronic world. I’d like to come back myself, so I came up with the idea of capturing everything in black and white without using any help from a computer.

So, you’ve only just taken all of these photos?
Yes, they are all new. The photos that were shown on the first floor illustrate the concept of ‘Stop and Think.’ As I’ve said, the exhibition started when I stopped partying all the time and came back to focus on the more peaceful side within me. These photos are of ordinary places and things that I see every day. Something in each of made me pause and think, though, and I try to capture that beauty in my work. I focus in on the details of each object. For the second floor, I took pictures everywhere I went. I spent one and a half months working on them.

So, which is your favorite? Artistic black and white shots or party photos?
It’s hard to say which my favorite is. Both of them are kind of my babies. The “party photography” project though has already grown up, while the black and white photography is still a newborn and needs a lot of attention. So, for now I’m choosing to focus my time and energy exclusively on the latter.

Were you worried that Nocturne fans would be disappointed?
My previous Nocturne is fun and, honestly, everyone has their own fan base. I don’t worry about that too much. But now that it’s only me, I feel nervous on grand opening day as I’m not sure if anyone will come to see my exhibition.

What next?
I don’t have a concrete idea in my head about where to go next, but I know I’ll continue with both the party photos and the black and white images.

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