What I Do
I work at the intersection of art, design, and publishing, with a deep interest in Southeast Asian visual culture, turning ideas into books, films, and cultural projects.
With a background in documentary filmmaking and storytelling, I’ve spent two decades collaborating with artists, brands, and institutions worldwide, exploring how culture circulates and connects through creative practice.
Publishing
Co-founder of Stickerbomb and Soi Books, two imprints that connect subculture, art, and design. Soi Books (est. 2022) champions global subculture through collectible and trade art titles, while Stickerbomb World, born from the best-selling Stickerbomb series (published by Laurence King), has evolved into a platform for artists, and online bookstore.My own publishing practice is grounded in research and collaboration, exploring archives, scenes, and visual histories to understand the artists and worlds behind each project. Working fluidly as editor, curator, and producer, I’m interested in how culture moves across borders, how ideas and aesthetics travel between places and disciplines.
Background
Before founding Soi Books, I spent more than a decade in documentary film and branded storytelling, directing and producing for Al Jazeera, Arte, the BBC, ITV, and brands including Adidas, Nike, and Netflix.Having grown up British Asian and worked extensively across Europe and Southeast Asia, I’ve always been interested in how stories cross borders and evolve through collaboration. That sensibility, shaped by film, travel, and culture, continues to inform my editorial approach, where every book is both story and system.
Researching | Teaching
Currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art at SOAS, University of London, where my research focuses on Southeast Asia, curation, and visual culture. I’m developing a research and teaching practice that bridges art history, publishing, and ethnography, exploring how books, both historical and contemporary, can act as vessels for movement, identity, and storytelling.
I’ve guest lectured at Portsmouth University (UK) and Bina Nusantara University (Indonesia) and continue to build work that connects publishing, research, and creative practice.
Available for guest lectures and creative workshops.
Work In Progess
Current projects include Cimarron: The Wild One, a graphic novel with explorer Dwayne Fields (FRGS); a forthcoming visual design and music publication with Grammy-nominated artist deadmau5; and True World Skate, exploring the next chapter of independent skate culture with Thames & Hudson. I’m also developing an independent research project for my SOAS PGDip, examining the visual and material life of the book, in particular, Lontara’ and manuscript traditions of Sulawesi, where my own family heritage is rooted.Each project builds on my role as publisher, writer and creative director, developing ideas that bridge art, storytelling, subculture, and community.
Vision
Across my work, I’m interested in how art, publishing, and visual media move across borders and act as forms of exchange, for me personally between Southeast Asia and the UK, and more broadly between Europe and Asia. I’m drawn to both art history and practice, the archival and the contemporary, the personal and the collective and how these can be curated to articulate an idea or message. I see books as collaborative meeting points, where stories, ideas, and processes evolve through design, dialogue, and time. At their best, books are the most complete articulation of an idea, shaped by many hands and perspectives.Publishing is how ideas and culture stay in motion. There will always be short-form content, social, film, photography but making a book, album, or collection requires many points of input. That collaborative exchange is what keeps art, culture, and subculture moving, and what ultimately elevates the idea.
Collaborate | Contact
I collaborate with publishers, universities, and cultural institutions on book projects, research, and education.
If you’re interested in commissioning, co-editing, or guest teaching, I’d love to connect and explore how we might work together.
© suridh