THE WAT PHRA KAEW’S GUIDEBOOK IS A GUIDEBOOK AND PHOTOBOOK BY ARTYT “SUN” LERDRAKMONGKOL. FOR A YEAR AND A HALF AND WITH MORE THAN 100 ROLLS OF FILM, HE METICULOUSLY CAPTURED, AMONG OTHERS, THE HEAT AND CHAOS FOR THIS SPECIAL BOOK
TEXT: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
Photo: Pariwat Anantachina
The character of Wat Phra Kaew, aka Temple of the Emerald Buddha, may not be just that of the place, but also the visitors’, especially Chinese tourists’. THE WAT PHRA KAEW’S GUIDEBOOK is a guidebook and photobook by Artyt “Sun” Lerdrakmongkol, award-winning film photographer and owner of Husband and Wife Shop, a film photography shop and bookstore in Muangthong Thani. For a year and a half and with more than 100 rolls of film, he meticulously captured, among others, the heat and chaos for this special book.
Artyt stayed away from his own recollections of Wat Phra Kaew–for example, the government’s image of Bangkok’s most significant tourist attraction, majestic arts, a peaceful religious sanctuary or a sacred place where one swears an oath of innocence. Instead, he took photos of Wat Phra Kaew as it is now, before COVID-19, and added short anecdotes on his actual experience while taking them.
This is why THE WAT PHRA KAEW’S GUIDEBOOK walks a thin line between a photobook and a guidebook. While not highly informative, the book tells many stories and shares unusual experiences of What Phra Kaew quite effectively. Plus, the book’s designer is graphic designer Pariwat Anantachina, of The Uni_form Design Studio, who offers us four colors of the cover to choose from. Inside, his layout fits Artyt’s photos: putting some text out of the line, inconsistent font sizes and peculiar line spacing, all of which were inspired by the Google Translate culture as well as the behavior of pointing our smartphones at any text we need translation of.
Artyt says in the promotional video that book cover’s postcard look references the neighborhood around Thailand’s most highly revered temple, from Na Phra Lan road all the way to Tha Tian pier where lots of postcards are for sale!