Loneliness and isolations are two feelings most people are all too familiar with, including the illustrator Suntur. He became a viral sensation thanks to his minimalistic illustrations, which often show tiny figures surrounded by vast landscapes, that only further emphasize how alone they are in this world.
Suntur is the alter ego of Yozanun Wutigonsombutkul, the New York City-based illustrator who hails from Bangkok, Thailand. He enjoyed art from a young age, and eventually decided to pursue it full-time by earning a Bachelor of Art at Silpakorn University.
Following graduation, he spent some time writing copy at an advertising agency but found this work unfulfilling. He decided to take a leap of faith in 2015 and left it all behind to become a full-time artist, eventually moving to NYC.
Isolation is a common theme in Suntur’s illustrations, especially since his subjects always look tiny when compared to their surroundings. Even when they’re not alone, subjects in his illustrations are often bound together by their shared isolation, and some of them are not even human.
Suntur is a master storyteller, and he uses brushstrokes to say complex stories, but he leaves it to others to determine what they mean.
“I rarely explain the meaning of my paintings. I prefer to listen to how other people think, feel, or understand my paintings,” he told Bangkok Post.
