Memoirs of Bangkok
Bangkok is world-famous for its Buddhist temples, vibrant nightlife, street food, floating markets and much more. However, is this the real Bangkok? What did some of the Bangkok-based photographers notice about the city?
Presented by River City Bangkok, Memoirs of Bangkok invites you to explore the authenticity of one-of-a-kind city, Bangkok, through the lenses of 5 photographers who have distinct artistic styles: Antonio Saba, Ben Davies, Phichai Keawvichit, Marcelo von Schwartz, and Yvan Cohen. Though the 5 of them have different backgrounds, styles, and perspectives, they share their love and infatuating experiences of living in Bangkok which have inspired them to create photography collections ‘Oneirism’, ‘Vanishing Bangkok: The Changing Face of Bangkok’, ‘Unlock’, ‘Bangkok Dreamscapes’, and ‘Chinatown’
Antonio Saba, an Italian photographer, presents the Oneirism exhibition, which combines visions from both reality and dreams, blending distant images to create new ones. As a result, unique and remarkable fragments of reality are created, leaving a memorable impression on the viewer. In this timed auction, we have specifically selected Saba’s two works taken in Thailand. The photographs presented are dense with meaning and allow for multiple interpretations, inviting viewers to investigate what happens beyond reality.
Born in England, Ben Davies is a Bangkok-based journalist, photographer and author who has lived in Bangkok for more than 25 years. Ben captured stunning black and white photographs on a journey through the forgotten backstreets and hidden neighborhoods of Bangkok revealing the fragile beauty and faded charm of the city that is about to disappear forever beneath a tidal wave of development.
Phichai Keawvichit or nicknamed Eak is an art enthusiast and a Thai photographer who had imprisoned his artistic urges and creativity for two decades prevented by his family obligations. One day, while riding his motorcycle on a street in Bangkok, Eak was inspired to capture different shapes and corners of a building by his phone camera and posted it on his Instagram. This led to the beginning of his artistic adventure. Today, his Instagram: phichaikeawvichit has more than 80,000 followers.
Marcelo von Schwartz, an Argentine film director, architect, photographer, and sound architect. His work is known for focusing on the dark side of things. His Bangkok Dreamscapes exhibition presents the rapid changes and transformations of Bangkok as if they were part of an infinite and incompressible narrative without beginning or end, more typical of a strange dream than of reality.
Yvan Cohen, a British photographer, has worked as a photojournalist for more than three decades, primarily in Asia from his base in Bangkok. His trip through Bangkok’s Chinatown is a personal odyssey – a visual exploration of Bangkok through photographs echoing stories and history full of culture. In his view, Chinatown is home to vibrant communities which is truly extraordinary.
Memoirs of Bangkok: A Photograph Timed Auction will be open for bidding on 6 August and running until the final bid on 21 August 2021 via www.rcbauctions.com and RCB Auctions application.
Watch a step-by-step video of registration and bidding here
