Roman Solodkov Palindroma

I first noticed Roma a few years ago at Bangkok CityCity’s Bring Your Own Beamer event, where we were both showing our own visuals and projectors. Since then, every time I go to an event involving electronic music, live visuals or creative coding, I seem to find him somewhere at the back, either behind a screen or simply head banging to the music.

Roman Solodkov, better known as Palindroma, is a Russian artist, designer and educator based in Bangkok. Before moving into art, he studied biology and neuroscience, a background that still finds its way into his work. His practice moves between 3D graphics, animation, game engines, interactive installations and real-time generative systems, often exploring the relationship between people and technology.

He is also deeply connected to Bangkok’s experimental music scene, creating live visuals and interactive systems that respond to sound, and regularly collaborating with local musicians and sound artists.

When I asked Roma where he wanted to be photographed, he wanted somewhere very urban, and very different from the area where he lived. I immediately thought of concrete highways. I remembered the area behind TCDC, where the expressway cuts through streets filled with lights, traffic and old buildings. We met there after dark and wandered underneath the highway, looking for places to shoot.

It felt quite appropriate to photograph someone whose work usually exists somewhere between machines, screens and digital environments surrounded by all that concrete, artificial light and urban noise. It was a good excuse to explore that part of the city together, and to listen to his story.