HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn recently graced the opening of an exhibition of her own photographs titled “Clairvoyance” at the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre. The exhibition was jointly organised by the The Royal Photographic Society of Thailand, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev) and the BACC.
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn sells the exhibition catalogue to Mom Dusdi Paribatra na Ayudhya.
On hand to welcome the princess upon arrival with a hand garland was Khunying Wanna Sirivadhanabhakdi, executive vice-chairwoman of ThaiBev. To launch the proceedings, RPST president Nitikorn Kraivixien addressed the princess on the background of the exhibition and invited sponsors to accept a memento from the princess.
The gathering then moved to the auditorium on the fifth floor, where the princess spoke about the images she had taken. This was a most memorable session for the audience because of the princess’ sense of humour, which enhanced the very personal perspective of the exhibition.
The photography exhibition, the princess’ eighth since 2007, comprises a total of 158 images taken during her travels in Thailand and overseas over the past year. Not only does each image have artistic value, but also reflects Her Royal Highness’ perspectives on the things she experienced, as well as her opinions and thoughts. The photographs are essentially telling a story from the princess’ point of view, in the form of images.
The title of the exhibition, “Clairvoyance”, comes from the concept of the images, many of which were taken through the lens of a telescope or a Scanning Electron Microscope. Each of these allows us to see images on the opposite sides of the size spectrum; one being celestial bodies in the universe that are vast beyond the imagination, and the other infinitesimally small.
Her Royal Highness was studying the extraction of oil from plants for medicinal purposes, and from the microscope at The National Nanotechnology Centre she discovered that the images were graphically artistic. She began capturing the variety of designs with great enthusiasm — oil pods under holy basil leaves, capsaicin crystals that makes a chilli spicy, and the crosscut of a butterfly wing.
There are also pictures of Sra Pathum Palace taken from a camera-mounted drone. All these images are impossible to see with the naked eye, hence the title “Clairvoyance”.
After the talk, everyone reconvened on the ninth floor exhibition space, where Her Royal Highness viewed the exhibition, then personally sold books to buyers among the audience.
The exhibition will be on display until March 8 at BACC (closed on Mondays). The exhibition catalogue is available for 900 baht from the BACC and Chulalongkorn Book Centre, with all proceeds going to Her Royal Highness’ charities. n
