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PHOTO ESSAY : FREITAG AND MY IDENTITY
TEXT: SARUNKORN ARTHAN
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER
(For Thai, press here)
If you were to pick one object that best represents who you are, what would it be? Your everyday glasses? A favorite book? Perhaps the pocket inhaler you never leave home without? Each choice offers a fun yet revealing challenge, balancing personal reflection with creative expression. But what if that object were your bag? How might it speak for you?
art4d x FREITAG come join forces for a special photography campaign titled ‘FREITAG and My Identity,’ inviting people from all walks of life to express who they are through their trusted FREITAG companion.
Among the many submissions, one stood out for its quiet strength and emotional resonance: Carrying Everything, Everywhere by Malinee Mendonca, a #FULLTIMEMOTHER whose photograph beautifully captures not only an aesthetic sensibility but also the profound, everyday poetry of motherhood.
Other participants, too, revealed striking interpretations of identity, from #ARCHITECT and #SHOPKEEPER to #INTERIORARCHITECT and #VETERINARIAN. Some brought together animals, people, and objects in delightfully unexpected ways, creating scenes that both charm and disarm.
In the end, no award or recognition can define or diminish one’s individuality— because being yourself is the most precious gift in every moment of life. To be yourself is to love yourself, and through that self-love, to share that love with others.
“If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?” – RuPaul
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Malinee Mendonca
Occupation: Full-time Mother
Title of the Photo: Carrying Everything, Everywhere
No matter how near or far, this FREITAG bag is my go-to companion — tough, durable, and easy to carry, whether over the shoulder or as a backpack.

Teechalit Chularat
Occupation: Architect
Title of the Photo: Art Play Work
Beyond being functional and eco-conscious, FREITAG celebrates the art of composition through pattern and color. Its playfulness inspires me every time I use it. This photo reflects my true self; someone who loves art, photography, and carrying tools that make creative work easy, just like FREITAG’s own philosophy.

Phachara Lertphadungtham
Occupation: Interior Architect, Branding, and AI Experience Strategist
Title of the Photo: Title of the Photo: Layers in 3D
FREITAG, one of my life’s (p)layers (not just layers), still takes center stage.

Thanaphat Kongwongwilai
Occupation: Footwear Seller
Title of the Photo: Be Yourself
Whatever the color, it never clashes, as long as it’s your own.

Grish Chengsuebsant
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Title of the Photo: The Business Man
“I came here to drop some money, droppin’ all my money 💴”

Nimitporn Tanwan
Occupation: Business Owner
Title of the Photo: All in One
The idea came from my F302 ROY, a large, beloved FREITAG bag that fits everything I need. Wherever I travel, one bag is all it takes.

Rattapong Angkasith
Occupation: Architect / Lecturer
Title of the Photo: Stillness in Transit
Amid the sounds, smells, and movements of the busy market, I stand still for a brief moment. The world keeps moving, yet I feel calm inside. This moment captures a quiet pause, a stillness within the everyday chaos.

Methawin Sawaikoetsiri
Occupation: Veterinarian
Title of the Photo: FAI-THAK / FREITAG
Whether you read it as FAI-THAK, a playful twist on kwai (buffalo), or as FREITAG, what matters is sharing the same love for recycling and a more livable world.

Phongsakorn Langkakad
Occupation: Photographer
Title of the Photo: Art in 360
Since art exists everywhere, I wanted to bring out as much of it as possible. Starting from my black-and-white F40, which already carried its own artistic character, I wanted the clothes I wore to harmonize with the bag slung at my side.
And that’s where the idea began. I sprayed black paint onto a white shirt, used paper cutouts in oval shapes to mask certain areas, and created an image that connects visually with the bag. Then I flicked small drops of color onto the surface and considered extending the design onto the back strap to complete the composition, turning it into a new kind of wearable artwork that wraps around the body in a full 360 degrees.
Each piece is unique: one bag to one shirt. When worn, the whole artwork comes together and can be carried anywhere you go.

Rang Ainpan
Occupation: Architect
Title of the Photo: The Architect’s Canvas
An architect and FREITAG is a perfect union of endurance and sustainable creativity. Amid the battlefield of architectural life, where blueprints scatter across the floor alongside tools and instruments of the trade, my recycled tarp FREITAG bag rests on my shoulder as a steadfast companion. It is more than just a bag. It embodies resilience, individuality, and sustainability. This image reflects who I am and how I work: creating things that endure, that stand against challenges, and that merge seamlessly with FREITAG’s spirit of thoughtful, lasting design.
BANGKOK PAINS
INVISIBLE INK TAKES THE CHAOS OF BANGKOK AND DESIGNS IT INTO ‘BANGKOK PAINS’, A BOARD GAME THAT’S BOTH PAINFUL AND CREATIVE, AND A FUN REFLECTION OF THE CITY’S EXPERIENCES
KHLONG SAEN SAEP
KHLONG SAEN SAEP PRESENTS A NEW LOCAL SOLUTION THAT EMBODIES A BLURRING AND LAYERING EXPERIENCE, RESEARCHED BY ARCHITECTS JENCHIEH HUNG AND KULTHIDA SONGKITTIPAKDEE OF HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
VMS LIBRARY
WHEN THREE THAI DESIGN STUDIOS COLLABORATED TO DESIGN VMS LIBRARY, A LIBRARY THAT UNDERSTANDS THE CHANGING TIMES, IT BECAME A SPACE FOR MEDITATION AND INTERACTION AT THE SAME TIME.
KARANA COLLECTION
THE KARANA COLLECTION: HENDRO HADINATA TRANSFORMS SOLID WOOD INTO CHAIRS, BENCHES AND LAMPS OF GRACEFUL, FLOWING CURVES
SUN TOWER
SUN TOWER, A SEASIDE BUILDING IN YANTAI, DESIGNED TO ORBIT THE SUN, CONVEYING THE RHYTHM OF LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE THROUGH ITS SHAPE AND MATERIALS, BY OPEN ARCHITECTURE Read More
PHOTO ESSAY : AT THE HEART OF FAITH
TEXT & PHOTO: SAMATCHA APAISUWAN
(For Thai, press here)
At the Heart of Faith: A Portrait of Bangkok’s Indian Community
The idea for At the Heart of Faith began shortly after the exhibition Connect at Bangkok Design Week 2025, which explored how art can bridge cultures through shared space and emotion. Following that event, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) invited me to develop a new cultural project, an outdoor photographic exhibition to coincide with the city’s Diwali Festival. The goal was to highlight the long-established Indian community of Phahurat, known as Bangkok’s Little India, and its enduring place within the capital’s diverse urban fabric.
The vision was clear, to portray the vibrant yet often overlooked life of a community where faith, trade, and tradition coexist within a modern metropolis. The BMA sought to celebrate cultural diversity; I sought to explore the human thread that connects Indian communities across borders, from India to Thailand, through the shared language of belief and belonging.
The project combines two visual worlds, photographs made in India and a new body of work created in Phahurat. Together, they form a dialogue between communities that share the same spiritual rhythm. At its center stands the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Bangkok’s principal Sikh temple, whose golden dome rises above the neighborhood as a symbol of faith and continuity.
Around the temple, life moves at its own pace, tailors at their sewing machines, vendors selling fabrics and spices, elders gathered in quiet conversation. These are the daily gestures that sustain a community shaped by work, worship, and resilience.
Here, faith is not only observed in ritual but expressed through everyday acts of care, perseverance, and connection, an enduring testament to the living spirit of Bangkok’s Little India.
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Samatcha Apaisuwan is a Bangkok-based photographer and creative director with over 30 years of experience in visual arts and design. His work explores the connection between culture, faith, and everyday life through a documentary approach. He has collaborated widely across art and cultural institutions as well as leading news and media networks, including the Bangkok Post, Thai PBS World, and the Financial Times.








































