When visitors arrive at the Kinjai Contemporary art gallery to see "2475 Graphic Novel Exhibition", they can expect to be greeted by the main characters of the graphic novel 2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter by Tanis Werasakwong, alias Sa-ard.
2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter follows the life of Nipa, a newspaper proofreader at the Bangkok News in the 1930s. Nipa is also a ghostwriter who dares to criticise the government and is involved with Khana Ratsadon, the People's Party of that time. Since Khana Ratsadon aims to change the old political system into a constitutional monarchy, Nipa becomes a spy for the organisation. She is later entangled in a game of power with twists and turns that become a test of her integrity.
As the exhibition is located in a four-storey building, visitors can view the drawings of paper on the stairs and floors from the 1st floor all the way up to the 4th. Tanis explained that the drawing of paper symbolise a medium for passing on hope from past to present.
"The concept of this exhibition focuses on the efforts of people who want to change society for the better. The characters, like members of Khana Ratsadon and Nipa and even myself, try to have hope despite the bad situation in terms of the economy, politics and culture both past and present. The objective is not just changing mindsets but about doing something or writing something and passing on hope to others because social issues cannot be solved by a single superhero," explained Tanis.
On the 1st floor, Nipa and members of Khana Ratsadon are introduced to visitors.
"2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter was created from traces of the past and was inspired by hundreds of books by past writers. They didn't even know that what they wrote had influenced me to create a new piece of work. Pieces from that era gave me hope, so I worked on this piece to pass it on. I hope that society will change for the better."
"2475 Graphic Novel Exhibition" was designed for both readers who have read 2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter and those who haven't. The 1st floor is like a preface of the book. Nipa and Khana Ratsadon, the main characters of the graphic novel, are introduced to visitors. Then, Tanis explains the concept of the graphic novel through an interview presented by video.
The mezzanine explains the research process. Books are stacked up from floor to ceiling to indicate how Tanis and his team read a wide variety of books covering comics, novels, history, economics and politics. In each book, visitors will see notes that Tanis took about how the content could be used for his graphic novel.
Extensive research and world-building allowed for the creation of a fictional universe and setting. The world-building process reveals character details and several aspects of the era such as the economy, politics and law.
A room that resembles Tanis' work space.
Viewers will learn that inequality was a major issue of that time. For instance, from 1900 to 1920, the government earned up to 15 million baht from taxes and rice field rents. Farmers had to pay rent and tax (collected from men aged 18 to 60) of 6 baht per year. If they could not pay taxes, their assets and lands would be seized or they would be forced to labour in public construction.
The 3rd floor is the main exhibit and is divided into two rooms. The first room displays comics according to timelines in the book from 1912, 1925, 1931 and 1932. It also features trivia not included in the book. For example, there is a sketch of the Khana Ratsadon in a meeting with seven members. A note mentions that Phraya Phahon-phonphayu-hasena was superstitious and he believed that no more than eight people should be in a meeting.
Another highlight in the room is a display of a cartoon where young Nipa receives a pen from her late father, who was an honest government officer. In the graphic novel, the pen is a symbol of freedom of speech.
"The graphic novel tackles many issues including gender, politics and economics, but the main issue is the belief in freedom that will help society change for the better. Since pens at that time were expensive, they were precious. Pens in our hands may change society if we are serious about making change," said Tanis.
Sketches and notes by Tanis.
Another room resembles a working space for Tanis, with one side of the wall showing sketches. Here, visitors can get a behind-the-scenes view of 2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter by reading through the first draft, character details, a list of scenes to be used and deleted scenes. On another side of the wall is Tanis' handwritten diary which reveals his struggles while working on the novel.
2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter was released in 2023. It took Tanis and his team three years before they could release it. Since creating a 460-page book was tough work, Tanis went through a long period which he described as "the time of fear, fatigue and suffering".
Thailand's lese majeste law, or article 112 of the Criminal Code, was one of his concerns. To avoid possible problems related to lese majeste, the character of King Rama VII was eliminated from the book. However, he was still worried that relatives of Khana Ratsadon members might not appreciate his work, and in the worst-case scenario, it might lead to a lawsuit.
Working with a team that takes history seriously, 2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter perfectly blends fun and exciting fiction with solid and reliable historical information. As a result, the novel was well received by readers, historians and book critics. It was also selected by the Ministry of Culture to be one of 15 books in the Thai book translation project for distribution abroad.
Members of Khana Ratsadon.
"I was worried that the book may be targeted by the state, but it received an award from the Ministry of Culture. I was stunned. Additionally, the Thailand Creative Culture Agency invited me to be a speaker at the Taipei International Book Exhibition," said Tanis.
"2475 The Siamese Ghostwriter may have a different storyline and approach from other books, but if you really read it carefully, you will find that I do not encourage people to start a revolution. I just released a graphic novel which reflects the social conditions and dreams of people in that era. It is a work that criticises both sides and the work eventually took me to places that I had never expected."
When Tanis was a student at the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication at Thammasat University, he won the silver medal at the 2012 International Manga Award in Japan for his comic The Man Who Follows His Own Calling.
As a self-taught cartoonist, Tanis was not confident in his drawings even though he won an international award. He later sent many works to comic competitions and recently won the Overseas Participant Award at the Kitakyushu International Manga Competition in Japan. The Japanese award boosted his confidence that his skills in drawing and creating gags are accepted even in a cross-cultural competition.
"2475 Graphic Novel Exhibition" was a challenge for Tanis since there are not many comic exhibitions in Thailand, but he hopes that people will come and experience a new form of exhibition.
Nipa, a newspaper proofreader.
"I hope that the exhibition will ignite a spark in viewers and inspire them to have hope in life. Some visitors may not know me or have no idea of the Siamese Revolution of 1932, but they may find the exhibition interesting," said Tanis.
"It was also unexpected to hear that a teacher brought students to view this exhibition. Parents who brought their children here told me that after viewing the exhibition, their child ran into a stationery store. It is a good thing if viewers can gain something from the exhibition that they did not expect."
"2475 Graphic Novel Exhibition" runs at Kinjai Contemporary (next to MRT Sirindhorn Station) until March 16. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/Kinjaicontemporary.
Nipa on a balcony.
