Second Homesick Part 3 Ed. 1 of 50

The Tall Tale
What can you only find in Bangkok? Let me just say, it’s a riddle, in a way: real but not physical; always changing, but somehow the same; here 1 minute, gone the next; replaced by ephemera you’ll never forget. And I'm not talking about its oddities and curiosities. The Maeklong Railway Market isn't unique; that sliver of the city where stallholders trade either side of the tracks. Pulling back shade covers as trains barge through. Mere inches from fruit & veg that line the snaking trail. Locomotives bend through Hanoi's suburbs to this day, and the list goes on: Lumphini-like lizards (& other BIG critters) meander all over the land down under; Mother India's full of lingam devotees—share a prayer wherever you please; you can even ride ‘khlongs’ on Venetian canals, though you’ll pay through the nose for those! So what's in Bangkok you can’t find other places? Ever been to a gold rush town at the height of its lustre? A throbbing colossus sprung from nothing much that'll sink again when the cash cow's dry. And Bangkok IS sinking, even as the cost of living soars. But its pace never slows, as if the city knows how special it is. What wonder it holds. Look past the chaos, there's treasure to behold!

Sources Of Inspiration
Overlapping histories • Entire cities sprouting like wildflowers • The kinetic energy of 11 million people • Crowds eating khao pad moo on baking streets • Higgeldy-piggeldy sub sois lined with brutalist apartments in cheerful tones, full of life and laughter and enough fish sauce to fill the Chao Phraya

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ABOUT ME
Born in Sydney, I spent my childhood surrounded by artists, oddballs and academics. They taught me to question everything. Respectfully and without fear.

Twenty-two countries and four continents later, I can find home anywhere with WiFi and a hearty chunk of intrigue. It's because of them, and I'm forever grateful.

ABOUT MY ART
It's All Just A Little Bit Of History Remixing...

We imagine history into existence every day. Shaping the world around us as we go. And I remake histories with every piece. From a motley crew of tales tall and true. A melange of myths, signs and symbols. Every one ripe for my kitsch confections, which could all be legends one day...

Every piece I create is true. Sourced from truth and grounded by it. But never real. Reality's a fiction we're all subscribed to, which doesn't make it any less true. And that's the thing about the truth. Or the past. It moves in both directions. Myriad, in fact. Never sitting still or doing as it's told. Forever questioned, dissected, reframed and upended. Queered and inverted. Packaged and performed. Told, retold, adapted then sold. Evolving like everything else. Which is why I like to think my art exists outside of time. Reaching for infinity instead of reality. A kaleidoscope of mish-mashed truths that are only ever as surreal as we choose to make them...
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Toby Leon