Photographs often serve as wells people return to when they wish to drink from the past. Occasionally life manages to poison these wells, yet some people still choose to drink.
Ram Kanjanavanit's "Burning Love", a mixed-media exhibition on display at Kathmandu Photo Gallery, is the visual result of drinking deeply.
The intensely personal work began as a collection of photographs that Ram transferred onto wood using an inkjet printer. He then manipulated the images, adding or subtracting, using paint or sandpaper respectively.
"These are like memory stuff about my ex-lovers," said the soft-spoken, 28-year-old Bangkok native. "The idea is like a lost love. I want the memories to disappear."
Physically, none has disappeared entirely, but they've all been obscured by Ram's hand. The manipulation of each piece represents a telling reaction.
"Sometimes I feel like, this piece I want to just sand it off, but some of it I want to paint over it on the surface. Sometimes I [play] the song -- like, our song -- when I'm doing it," he said, noting the music he associates with past relationships makes his memories "flow".
Work from 'Burning Love' by Ram Kanjanavanit at Kathmandu Photo Gallery in Bangkok. Brandon Harder
In certain pieces, the technique looks passive. Where layers of paint have been melted with a heat gun, causing them to droop and run, a sense of time and weight is displayed in the work. In others, warmed, layered paint has been smeared, giving the effect of abrasive bruising. Where fine-grained sandpaper has been used, it looks as if a fog has settled over the image.
Some pieces wear playful, haphazard globs of multicoloured paint that look like a child's afternoon accident, displaying a lightheartedness. In contrast, others feature spatterings that speak of heavier, more adult follies.
A few of the exhibition's most intimate pieces wear signs of active, aggressive manipulation. Layers of paint have been applied and then belligerently scraped away, lending a frantic feel to the work. When a coarse-grained sandpaper has been used, violence is present in the scars that run across what is left of the memory.
The lion's share of the exhibition is comprised of small, 8x10 pieces. A few larger pieces also are on display, but they are more straightforward, not sharing the moody depth of the smaller offerings.
Having been formally trained as a photographer at the International Center of Photography in New York, Ram said the techniques used in "Burning Love" were something he became interested in during his last year of school.
"The meaning is not just photography anymore," he said, noting that the concept served as his thesis. However, to exact his mixed-media vision, he had to overcome a few technical hurdles.
"I'm a photographer and this is kind of a new thing for me," he said.
The exhibition space at Kathmandu Photo Gallery in Bangkok. Brandon Harder
The waxen, encaustic paint presented a challenge, as he needed to learn how to manipulate its characteristics before adapting it to suit his style. Once he became proficient with the paint, his path was clear.
"When I look at the photograph, before I print it, I know exactly what I want to do with the piece," he said.
The retrospective creative process was emotionally medicinal for the photographer, who said it helped him deal with the pain and confusion of his memories.
"I think the confused part is gone," he said. "Now I realise a lot of things."
As people visit Ram's first solo exhibition, he said he hopes they can relate to his work and think about their own relationships.
Chances are, viewers will do just that. The exhibition is immediately accessible in that, although its content is personal, it is thematically common to most. For the emotional masochist, the collection will likely play like a classic album. But for Ram, it's not about gratification. It's about healing and evolution.
"You can learn from love -- learn some pain," he said. "It's going to make you better."
"Burning Love" will be on display at Kathmandu Photo Gallery until Dec 28.
Photographer Ram Kanjanavanit. Brandon Harder
