PAUL SHIH
Interview by Katya Guseva
Paul’s unique paper dioramas are an interesting mixture of illustration and photography techniques. Paul currently lives in New Zealand with his puppy March and creates characters and monsters that are cute, but don’t sleep – they could bite off your arm or steal all your donuts!
Was there any one moment in your childhood that made you become an artist?
One moment? No, I was not struck by a lightning or bit by an artistic spider that gave me the superpower to become an artist, however I watch a lot of cartoons in my childhood, both eastern & western cartoons; at the time my dream was to become an animator, and have my own cartoon show, that motivates me to start drawing!
What is your process?
It all begin with doodling on my sketchbook, whether it’s a paper diorama or a digital work I always start with character design, I love creating new characters, usually in the process of creating new character, some idea for an artwork will pop up! Each character has its own personality, so it’s easy for me to come up with ideas or put them into a story. For example, I created a character called “Donut Pirate”, he’s a greedy little theft, and all he wants is donuts, donuts and more donuts!! From that I developed & created “Naturally Greed” paper diorama artwork and “Stolen Donuts” t-shirt.
What influences your art, what are your sources of inspiration?
Anything and everything! People I’ve met, my pet, stuff played on TV, news, and on my stereo, video games, the list could go on forever…
How would you describe the mood and feel of your characters and your art?
I think the mood and feel vary from work to work, but in general, I try to create artwork that’s enjoyable for everyone, all ages. I believe there are different ways to interpret a same idea, even though some piece may have a darker theme, I’d still try and make them look fun and pleasant.
What’s the story behind the “Japanese Dream” diorama?
I spent a lot of time in Asia this year, one of the stop was Tokyo, it’s such an amazing city, a lot of crazy things happened there! My initial idea was to create a piece that simply documents the trip, but the more I worked on this, it turned into a different world, more surreal, and somewhat evil? The city filled with my designs, symbols, and hidden messages, at the end it serve as a mix of my documentary and dream, it’s probably my most personal work to date!
“First Lady” is so cute, but she just bit off someone’s arm? WTF?
“First Lady” is from my “Blood” series, I did that series in 2006? when the war in Iraq was happening. “Blood” series is about the war, the killing and violence that happen in our world today, and what happen if one day human become endangered species? Vampires will have to search for alternative sources to replace blood. So the war coverage news was all over the media around that time, it was kind of ironic to see the contrast between the horror of war footage and how elegant those who report about the war from white house are. I tried to illustrate this chaotic idea on “First Lady”.
Does music play any role in your art?
Definitely! Whenever I’m working, I’ll have my music playing loud! I listen to all kinds of music, mostly punk rock! Sometimes I get inspired by the lyrics or track titles. I find it interesting to have a visual idea based on texts, even more interesting for a non native English speaker like me, whose definition of words are blur, hahaha….
What would you do if you weren’t an artist?
Ahhhh, this is scary, I’ve never thought about it!
Maybe something to do with music or food? I don’t know….
Do you have a favorite piece of your work?
I’m afraid it changes all the time, my latest work is always my favorite piece!
