Art & CultureThailand is home to a rich cultural heritage with distinct spiritual and art lineages. Gain insight into the ways of Thai culture passed down through the centuries in addition to its more modern variations through original Art & Culture articles.
Youthapong Charoenpan
British-born photographer Olivier Pin-Fat's shots of Bee Futon, a member of the Bangkok-based band Futon and leading Rehab DJ, were originally taken in 1994 in a building that was gutted by fire during the events of May 17-20, 1992. This was a period of popular protest in Bangkok – commonly referred to as 'Black May' - against the military-led government of then prime minister Gen Suchinda Kraprayoon. This collection of photos is on display at Whitespace Gallery through October 18.
As I have known Bee for a number of years, I can say that I have a huge deal of respect for him as a musician. He has such a boyish face in these photographs by Olivier Pin-Fat that I hardly recognized him at first. My first impressions were that he looks very vulnerable and lost in the unusual derelict surroundings.
Under the gun
Known in Thai as Phruetsapha Thamin, Black May describes the protests and upheaval that took place over a four-day period in central Bangkok and the bloody military crackdown that followed. It was the next significant social and political upheaval in Thailand following the October 14 uprising in 1973.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 people took part in the demonstrations at their height in central Bangkok. The military's hardline response resulted in 50 official fatalities, along with hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and over 3,000 arrests. Many of the citizens that were arrested claim that the authorities tortured them during their incarceration.
The pistol used in some of the photos from this collection is a real gun, and that's fair enough if the shots are supposed to encourage the viewer to recall the violence and stupidity of the events of Black May, although I personally found some of the shots to be a bit too forceful. I have been led to believe that the model (Bee Futon) was free to create some of the settings and poses for the photo shoot himself. The deserted building certainly reminded me of the violent and negative events that took place in 1992, which ultimately did little to change anything.
There is one close-up shot of Bee gazing down while he puts his hands through his disheveled hair. Personally I find this photo to be pretty powerful as it hints at the unbelievably unbearable circumstances that must have transpired during those days of unrest.
While most of the photos from Olivier Pin-Fat's
collection look 'staged', I don't think there's too much wrong with
that given that the original objective behind the shoot was for him to
photograph the English DJ and musician.
This particular photograph foray morphed into a
fashion shoot that ran over 12 pages and was also featured on the cover
of the (then) cutting edge A3-sized magazine HYPER. It seems that when Pin-Fat and Bee got together
for this occasion, they managed to spontaneously create a strong
concept that went far beyond a regular fashion shoot, and so the
collection manages to create a link to another sad chapter of
Thailand's political history that most people are keen to forget.
The Hyperzone exhibition, featuring 45 hand-printed photos, is being
held at Whitespace Gallery until October 18. For further information,
call the gallery on Tel: +66 (0)2 252 2900, or visit http://www.whitesp-ce.com .
Transport connections: Train: The closest BTS skytrain station is Siam. Whitespace Gallery is on the 2nd floor of the Lido cinema in Siam Square.
Art & Culture 
Art & Culture
Thailand is home to a rich cultural heritage with distinct spiritual and art lineages. Gain insight into the ways of Thai culture passed down through the centuries in addition to its more modern variations through original Art & Culture articles.
contact 
sitemap
advertise with us
){kind=link}