His name means a servant for Lord Buddha. One of Thailand's most respected monks, the late Buddhadasa Bhikku helped reform Buddhist study in Thailand and influenced the way we understand Buddha's teachings, in particular by eschewing rituals and superstitious beliefs.
While his teachings and writings continue to be greatly admired, another of his holiness's activities is less well known: Buddhadasa was a keen photographer, or, more likely, a conceptual artist who worked with photography as a means to express the essence of Buddhist doctrines. His evocative images, composed with the help of a novice, are often double or triple exposures.
Opening last weekend at Kathmandu Photo Gallery, "Dharma Text Next To Image" comprises selected works from a collection of dhamma-teaching poems and black-and-white photographs. The show is curated by artist Manit Srivanichpoom.
"I first discovered these works from a book of the same name as the exhibition," Manit says. "Unfortunately, the release of the book didn't get much publicity and not many people learned that Buddhadasa also worked with photography."
In 2006, the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives released a collection of 423 poems and photographs by Buddhadasa. These images unveiled his appreciation of the art of photography, which goes hand-in-hand with literary talent.
''If it is just a single photo with him in it, it wouldn't get me interested,'' Manit says. ''But when I saw that some of the works are made with double print style, I realised that there is something special about him.''
After the research, Manit met with Phra Maha Boonchu Jittapunyo, who was a novice when he worked with Buddhadasa on his photography. Phra Maha Boonchu was taught to take pictures by his master, but his skill was still poor. In the end, Buddhadasa worked with the younger monk, and that marks the beginning of this collection of works, where Buddhadasa created the concept and his assistant took his pictures.
''This kind of collaboration is very normal today, where the artist comes up with a concept and works together with a photographer,'' Manit explains. ''However, such an idea was quite new back then. Buddhadasa amazes me how he chose to use photography to teach dhamma and Buddha's teachings.
''We have seen beautiful images of temples and that's a typical way of attracting interest in the religion. But Buddhadasa's pictures are totally different. They are symbolic and philosophical, the meaning is hidden, and the idea is to urge people to learn about dhamma.''
With the help of Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, 30 images from the collection were printed and enlarged from the originals, and English translations of the poems were provided. Each image features Buddhadasa Bhikku in a different pose and location in Suan Mokh Monastery in Surat Thani, the monastry he founded which has now become a well-known meditation centre. Buddhadasa processed his film in a home-made darkroom to compose the double and triple prints, and together with the poems they created a series of dhamma riddles, inviting the viewer to interpret and seek wisdom from them. According to Buddhadasa's assistant, there are two types of works in this collection: either the pictures were taken first and the poems written to accompany them, or vice versa.
''At first, when I saw that Buddhadasa took so many pictures of himself, I thought for a moment that he might be full of himself,'' Manit shares.
''After discussions with people who knew him well, I learned that when people visited him, they always asked for his picture to keep as an amulet, as many famous monks do. However, that was not so in his case. He had never given his pictures away. It was also against his core belief that we should not cling to the egoism of 'I' and 'Mine'.
''After many requests, he decided that instead of just giving away his pictures, these pictures should be able to teach them dhamma.''
Manit explains that what surprised him the most was learning that Buddhadasa Bhikku had worked on this project since 1972. In terms of art history, he says, it means he already created a version of ''conceptual photography'' _ an idea ahead of its time when the Thai art scene still had not yet reached that stage.
''Dharma Text Next To Image'' is the sixth show in Kathmandu Photo Gallery's Seeking Forgotten Thai Photographers project to search for master artists neglected by history. The exhibition runs until June 30 at Kathmandu Photo Gallery on Pan Road. Call 02-234-6700.
