BANGKOK'S KHLONGSAN DISTRICT IS GOING THROUGH A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION. NEW HIGH RISES, THE ICON SIAM SHOPPING MALL, AND A DEDICATED SKYTRAIN ALL INDICATE THAT THIS COMMUNITY ON THE RIGHT BANK OF THE CHAOPRAYA IS RAPIDLY CHANGING ITS FACE. WITH A HISTORY REACHING BACK TO THE THONBURI ERA, THE QUIET DISTRICT IS TRANSFORMING ITSELF ALONG ITS MAIN GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES: CHAROEN NAKORN, LAT YA AND SOMDEJCHAOPRAYA ROADS.
IS THIS ANOTHER CASE OF INEVITABLE GENTRIFICATION? WHAT ARE THE VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE PROCESS? AND WHAT DOES THE ASCENT OF KHLONGSAN MEAN FOR THOSE THAT CALL IT THEIR HOME?
TRANSFORM KHLONGSAN CAPTURES THE DISTRICT'S CHANGING CITYSCAPE FROM 2021 TO 2025. THE COLLECTION COMPRISES 32 PHOTOS ALONG FOUR DIMENSIONS:
EMERGENCE EXPOSES THE MOST VISIBLE SIGNS OF TRANSFORMATION — RISING BUILDINGS, WORKERS’ BEING TRANSPORTED TO CONSTRUCTION SITES, AND SHIFTING STREET AESTHETICS THAT BEGIN TO SIGNAL CHANGE. THIS PART EXPLORES HOW DEVELOPMENT, BOTH QUIETLY AND BRUTALLY, ENTERED THE NEIGHBORHOOD, UNDER THE GUISE OF RENEWAL AND PROGRESS.
DISAPPEARANCE DOCUMENTS WHAT IS LOST IN THE PROCESS — PLACES TO BREATHE, LOCAL MARKETS, CULTURAL LANDMARKS, AND CITY VIEWS. THESE IMAGES REFLECT ABSENCE AND MEMORY, EVOKING THE EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL DISLOCATION THAT ACCOMPANIES THE TRANSFORMATION’S ADVANCE.
PERSISTENCE FOCUSES ON THE INDIVIDUALS, ANIMALS AND SPACES THAT REMAIN — THOSE WHO ADAPT, RESIST, OR SIMPLY ENDURE. THIS PART HIGHLIGHTS RESILIENCE AND CONTINUITY, OFFERING A COUNTER-NARRATIVE TO THE DOMINANT FLOW OF CHANGE.
COEXISTENCE, FINALLY, EXAMINES THE TENSION AND COMPLEXITY OF SHARED SPACE. HERE, CONTRASTING LIVES OVERLAP IN THE SAME STREETS: OLD AND NEW, ROOTED AND TRANSIENT, COLLIDING AND COHABITING. THESE PHOTOGRAPHS INVITE VIEWERS TO CONSIDER WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE TOGETHER IN A PLACE THAT NO LONGER FEELS SINGULAR.
THE PHOTOS PROMPT TO PONDER LINKS ACROSS DIMENSIONS — HOW MUCH EMERGENCE LIES IN PERSISTENCE; IS COEXISTENCE POSSIBLE WITHOUT DISAPPEARANCE? — AND REVISIT ETERNAL QUESTIONS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY: WITH WHICH DIMENSION ARE PHOTOS MOST NATURALLY LINKED?
EMERGENCE
EMERGENCE
DISAPPEARANCE
PERSISTENCE
COEXISTENCE
