ARTIST PORTFOLIO NIVANH CHANTHARA

Nivanh Chanthara grew up in a working-class neighbourhood that was a mix of people and cultures from all over the world. He lived in a suburb seven miles east of the centre of Paris. Walking to and from school every day, Nivanh would see a lot of graffiti by “BZ” (Bavaria-Zetla). He reckons that this one crew was responsible for about three-quarters of all the graffiti found in the neighbourhood.

Not that Nivanh was particularly impressed. He had no interest in graffiti and “its codes.” He did like to draw, though. Growing up in the 80s, he’d copy the cartoons he was into: G.I. Joe and He-Man, for example. The first Terminator movie – the metal endoskeleton, the military boots, the guns – made a big impression on him. So did the manga and anime that’d made its ways to France. Nivanh also had a friend whose dad was Japanese. This friend would return from his annual family holiday to Japan with toy catalogues full of pictures