BANGKOK STREET ART AND GRAFFITI
All posts by Ketsiree Wongwan
PHOTO ESSAY : STAY AT HOME 2020
TEXT & PHOTO: THANACHAI TANKVARALUK
(For Thai, press here)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on people’s daily lives with new implemented rules, regulations, and measures to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Under the New Normal way of life, people are required to make significant adjustments. This series of photographs is a documentation of memories and a reflection of the beauty and spirit hidden in the simplicity and ordinariness of life’s mundane stories, at a time where there is a significant shift in how humans live and a society evolves. Under entirely new circumstances and conditions, people are adapting to their new way of life. And before we know it, despite all the changes and disruptions, we have found some peace and happiness. We are currently more optimistic than ever that the pandemic will end and we will be able to resume our normal lives in the near future.
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Thanachai Tankvaraluk, who was born in Udon Thani, Thailand, earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication arts with a Journalism Major from Rangsit University. Currently, he is a business owner, but has always had a keen interest in everything around him, as well as an unwavering love and passion for travel and photography.
instagram.com/thanachai_diary
facebook.com/profile.php?id=100031795672130
PHOTO ESSAY : A LONELY JOURNEY
TEXT & PHOTO: SUPAKORN SOONTARARAK
(For Thai, press here)
We’ve heard the phrase ‘traveling is a journey of self-discovery’ so often that it’s almost become a catchphrase. But even so, we’ve seen it inspire countless individuals to pack their bags and explore the globe. On the other hand, if the statement were changed and ‘alone’ was added to the equation. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people had second thoughts or abandoned the idea out of fear of the word and what it implies. But this assertion made me question myself. After a period of reflection, I overcame my fear and my thoughts became clear. I established a goal that I hoped would enable me to discover more about who I am. I began planning my first solo trip and haven’t looked back since. My journey to self-discovery has revealed that solo travel has become an important and meaningful chapter of my life. I’ve learned more about myself simply by spending time alone. Traveling alone allows me to linger longer over something or a location, appreciating all the details, my surroundings, and my emotions on a deeper level.
Upon observing architecture and design, I began recognizing the intention behind each work, how light and shadow affect a space at various times of the day, and the beauty that has been meticulously crafted and conveyed. It would not be incorrect to say that the famous quote is accurate. If I hadn’t been able to overcome my fear, I would have never had the courage to travel alone, and I certainly wouldn’t know myself as well as I do now.
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Supakorn Soontararak used to be an architect. Now working full-time as a Senior Business Developer with a part-time job as an architectural photographer for SynSpaceStudio, he is the only Thai person ever to win the internationally renowned photography awards Arch2O by Architecture and Design Magazine in 2021 and Cyberpunk2077 World Photo Contest in 2020.
LIXIL X ASIA PACIFIC PROPERTY AWARDS
Asia Pacific Property Awards 2022-2023, Five Star Group Photo | Photo courtesy of LIXIL
ART4D SPEAKS TO MR. SATOSHI KONAGAI, LEADER, LIXIL WATER TECHNOLOGY APAC AND MS. AUDREY YEO, LEADER, THAILAND, LIXIL WATER TECHNOLOGY APAC ABOUT THIS LATEST COLLABORATION IN WHICH THEY SHARE THE COMMON GOAL IN DRIVING VALUABLE DESIGNERS TO GO FURTHER
SINDHORN VILLAGE : THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
A BOOK THAT INVITES US TO INVESTIGATE AND EXPLORE THE DESIGN CONCEPTS AND IDEAS THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF SINDHORN VILLAGE WHICH LEAD US TO QUESTION – WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF LIVING COMFORTABLY?
PHOTO ESSAY : BANGKOK-SCAPE
TEXT & PHOTO: DON AMATAYAKUL
(For Thai, press here)
This set of photographs captures the architecture of Bangkok through the use of cityscape/urban storytelling with each single frame intertwining the existence of built structures and the urban way of life. As a Bangkok native, the city and everything in its environment felt mundane and ordinary to me. They are merely things I see in my everyday life. But the charm and beauty of the city I have discovered through the lens of my camera inspire me to capture Bangkok in a different light.
Ever since I first became interested in photography, I have always been passionate about cityscape and architectural photography. I have always been drawn to the design aspect of the subjects, which is why most of the pictures on my Instagram account are buildings and views of the city.
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Don Amatayakul is a 4th-year, photography major student at the Faculty of Architecture King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He is also working as a freelance photographer and running his own facebook and Instagram account named donamtykl where he shares his photographs of Bangkok.
PHOTO ESSAY : MATSU ISLANDS, 2022
TEXT & PHOTO: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
(For Thai, press here)
A series of photographs documenting my journey to visit a Taiwanese friend on Matsu Islands, an archipelago of 36 islands and islets that’s about an 8-hour boat ride from Taiwan and less than 30 minutes away from China. The trip took place in the time when Thai media’s news coverages on the Taiwan-China conflict were more frequent and intense than ever.
The observation points built on almost every cliff on the islands house old military bunkers overlooking rocky shores, endless aquatic mass and waves and herds of goats with windmills owned by China visible from a distance. Several military bases are still active while some have been turned into locally-run hostels and cafes. My Taiwanese friend told me how mountains on the island were heavily drilled into holes for the military to transport weapons in the case roadways were damaged. As I listened to the story, my eyes caught the sight of people, both locals and tourists, going on about their days, like any other ordinary day. “They’re used to this kind of life; the life trapped between the war in the past and the war that hasn’t come.”
Looking at this set of photographs again when I’m back in Thailand, the story and memories feel strangely distant, like something out of a Wikipedia page. The pictures are informative and don’t tell anything much more than the islands’ geographical conditions. The feelings made me ask myself, “What do I actually know about Taiwan?”
Most people spend their entire life trying to understand their own countries; their own roots and birthplaces. Spending merely nine months in Taiwan and the 9 days I spent traveling around Matsu Islands, I don’t dare say that I know more about Taiwan than most Thai people. But it frustrates me every time I hear someone casually say, ‘Taiwan and China are about to start a war, you know,’ and they somehow make war sound so nonchalant.
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Napat ‘Mai’ Charitbutra is a writer and a post-graduate student who studied Creative Industries Design in Tainan, Taiwan.
掃除 CLEANING
FLIP THROUGH A PHOTO BOOK FROM MUJI THAT TAKES READERS TO EXPLORE THE EVERY MOMENT OF THE ACT OF CLEANING WHETHER IT BE PEOPLE WHO DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO KEEPING THE WORLD CLEAN, CLEANING TOOLS FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES, AND THE PROFOUND MEANING OF ‘CLEANING’
THE ART OF THAI COMICS: A CENTURY OF STRIPS AND STRIPES
THE INTEREST IN THAILAND’S INDEPENDENT COMIC LED NICOLAS VERSTAPPEN TO DIG DEEP INTO THE HISTORY OF THAILAND’S COMIC AND EVENTUALLY RESULT IN THE BOOK THAT CHARTS THAILAND’S COMIC CHRONICLE OF THE PAST 100 YEARS
WOODDEN – ARCHITECT ’22
WOODDEN COOPERATES WITH PHTAA LIVING DESIGN REIMAGINES AND EXPAND THE POTENTIAL OF TEAK WOOD, A MATERIAL WHICH BEEN A PART OF THAI ARCHITECTURE FROM PAST TO PRESENT, THROUGH EXHIBITION BOOTH AT ARCHITECT ’22