Month of Photography
4th edition
General Curator: Manit Sriwanichpoom
Historical Heritage
The Queen’s gallery
Contemporary Heritage
Silom Galleria, Tang Contemporary Art
Exhibitions
- « 100xFrance, History of French photography from its origin to present day »
- « The first portraits of Siam (1850-1860) »
- « Face to Faces » - [Self] Portraits
An Introduction of the General Curator : Manit Sriwanichpoom
Both a photographer and a committed artist, Manit Sriwanichpoom sets a sharp eye on today’s society and provides an original way of thinking on contemporary Thailand. He has gained international reputation during biennale and other exhibitions by producing several series of disturbing and provocative work of art (Venice Biennale, Paris Gallery Vu, Brazil Sao Paulo Biennale, Festival of Three Continents in Nantes (France), International Art Festival in Tokyo). His outdoor exhibition entitled The adventures of the man in pink in Wonderland had been one of the great successes during the 2006 Month of Photography in Bangkok.
Initiated in 2002 by the Alliance Française, the Month of Photography in Bangkok is a biennale event which has been part of “La Fête” since 2004. True festival within the festival, this fourth edition will enhance both the historical and the contemporary heritage of the art of photography.
“100xFrance...” is an impressive exhibition, which explores the historical of photography. It introduces through 100 photographs from 100 different artists, the history of French photography from its origins to the present day. It is the opportunity to also present a reproduction of the first photographic image set by Joseph Nicéphore Niepce, and to recall that photography was officially invented in France in 1839.
“Face to Faces” is a beautiful exhibition of contemporary pieces of art. It is conceptualized as a dialogue around the theme of portrait and self-portrait, bringing together not only the best contemporary artists working in France, but also an impressive selection of artists working in Thailand.
« 100xFrance, History of French photography from its origin to present day »
Historical Heritage
Curator: Sophie Schmit
When: June 8th to July 8th
Location: The Queen’s Gallery (4th floor)
Time: 10:00am - 7:00pm daily (except Wednesdays)
Admission Fee: 20THB
The official date of the invention of photography is 1839, when minister and scholar Arago introduced the invention of Daguerre at the Academy of Science in Paris. That invention, the daguerreotype, is in fact an improvement from Nicéphore Niépce’s one. The French State bought this invention and then donated it as a "gift to the world". Thanks to the daguerreotype, one can obtain images "only" after half an hour pose holding. That is the reason why streets of Paris, even at rush hour, seem to be totally empty. But who cares? Photography had been invented!
Corpus: Nicéphore Niépce, Eugène Atget, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Félix Nadar, Etienne-Jules Marey, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Agnès Varda, Gilles Caron, Raymond Depardon, Jean-Loup Sieff, Bernard Faucon, Georges Rousse.
The exhibition "100x France…" is a retrospective highlighting the French photographic heritage since its origin. It follows the evolution of photography through the works of great photographers as well as anonymous. By choosing to submit one photograph per photographer, 100 modern pictures have thus been printed in collaboration with leading institutions such as the French National Library of France, the Musée d'Orsay, the Pompidou Center, and the artists themselves or their beneficiaries. The aim of this exhibition is therefore to address the history of French photography from different angles: the evolution of techniques and processes, the themes that distinguish modern photography, "artistic", "humanistic", and "journalistic", the consistency of relationships between photography and other sciences.
« The first portraits of Siam (1850-1860) »
Historical Heritage
Curator: Claude Estèbe
When: June 8th to July 8th
Location: The Queen’s Gallery (4th floor)
Time: 10:00am - 7:00pm (except Wednesdays)
Admission Fee: 20THB
Specialist and historian of Japanese nineteenth century photography, Claude Estèbe, proposes to relive the golden age of the Kingdom of Siam through a selection of the extremely rare portraits of the Kings of Siam, ministers, dancers, and guardians of Seraglio made by Pierre Rossier, photographer at the Court of the King of Siam between 1850 to 1860. An unprecedented journey between classical and ethnological portraits!
« Face to Faces » - [Self] Portraits
Contemporary Heritage
When: June 10th to June 30th
Location: Silom Galleria (4th floor + Tang Contemporary Art) BTS Surasak
Time: 10:00am - 7:00pm
Opening Day: June 10th - 6:30pm in the presence of the two curators.
"Face to Faces" is an exhibition presented under the programme "Dialogues d'images", initiated by Culturesfrance in 2005. The programme sets out to address contemporary issues in photography, video, graphics and drawing, by confronting a fixed corpus of 30 to 50 works by French and European artists with a series of works by artists from the country hosting the exhibition. The latter are to be selected jointly by the French curator and a curator from the host venue. Works of artists from the host country enrich these major exhibitions which in turn become unique at each stage.
French Curator: Isabelle de Montfumat
Corpus: Alain Bubblex, Nan Goldin, Cécile Hartmann, Hans Hemmert, Suzanne Lafont, Dominik Lejman, Yuki Onodera, Roman Opalka, Orlan, Philippe Ramette, François Rousseau, Yann Toma, Jean-Luc Vilmouth, Kimiko Yoshida.
Portrait and self-portrait have always been themes intrinsic to photography. "Face to Faces" allows the public to discover the latest trends in contemporary photography. Highlighting the French and European scene, the exhibition also emerges as a space for encounters between the works of artists and photographers from different countries visited. "Face to Faces" is a testimony of the diversity of their concepts and researches but with an common approach of the universal issues such as mise-en-scene, instantaneity and representation of one self, the other and the world. This major exhibition travels throughout Europe, Latin America and Asia while being enriched at every step.
Thai Curator: Manit Sriwanichpoom
Corpus: Arthorn Hoontrakul, Michael Shaowansai, Itsaret Sutthisiri, Anusorn Charoensuk, Umpanni Satoh, Maitri Siriboon, Kamthorn Paowattanasuk, Masaru Goto, Tanapot Kaewspring, Alain Soldeville, Tintin Cooper, Chaisiri Jivarangsan.
Manit Sriwanichpoom has selected a dozen artists who have dealt with portrait and self-portrait work in an attempt to answer the following question: What current approach do Thai people have towards photography and more specifically towards portraits and thus towards their own identity?
