The story about the Pgak'yau ethnic group and their approach to forest management is presented during "Life And Land", which kicks off today and runs until Aug 9 on the 3rd floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Pathumwan intersection.
Presented by Warin Lab Nomad, this photography exhibition is curated from a collaborative project between Lazy Man Coffee (Thailand) and Invisible Flock (UK) that brings the act of image creation into direct dialogue with its own site.
These photographs chronicle the indigenous Pgak'yau's relationship with the environment -- a kinship rooted in food sovereignty, traditional knowledge and living in balance with nature -- at a critical juncture, as climate and environmental change reshapes life in northern Thailand.
For the Pgak'yau, the challenge of climate change is intertwined with questions of land, identity and self-determination.
Using analogue photography and local plants that grow on Pgak'yau land in Ban Nong Tao, Chiang Rai, the exhibition experiments with different photographic methods to express how climate change is directly and indirectly affecting the health of the community over time.
As environmental pressures increase, communities continue to adapt while seeking to protect both their livelihoods and their relationship with the land following the Pgak'yau philosophy that everyone has wind, air, fire, soil, rocks, sand and stars in their body.
The opening reception is today at 6pm and includes an exhibition tour led by a Pgak'yau community leader and the artists. The exhibition will repeat at La Lanta Fine Art on Narathiwat Ratchanakharin 22 from Aug 11-25. Exclusive only Aug 12, there will be two special sessions -- "Tasting The Land: Coffee From Ban Nong Tao" from 10.30am to noon, and "Slow Light: Bamboo Pinhole Photography" from 1pm to 4pm.
The fee for the two sessions is 1,000 baht, with places limited to 15 persons. To register, email info@warinlab.com.
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