Exhibition “Pachimon” by Claude Estèbe

The Toot Yung Art Center is happy to present, in cooperation with the Alliance française, an exhibition featuring the work of photographer Claude Estèbe as part of Photo Bangkok 2015.In Japanese, “Pachimon” refers to low-quality copies of toy characters from films and cartoons inspired by pop culture. Pachimons are distorted reflections of Japanese heroes such as Gundam, Godzilla or Ultraman that are popular in Asia and beyond. Through the lens of Claude Estèbe, those low-cost figurines picked up here and there in Southeast Asia become the very essence of the hero himself, its “Hyperreality” to use the word of French philosopher Jean Baudrillard. But beyond these concepts, Estèbe’s photographs truly amount to a visual celebration, highlighting the flaws and aberrations of the Pachimons of which they intensify the vivid colors and singular shapes.