This exhibition focuses on change, and on Siam as it gradually moves towards a unique blend of ‘East meets West.’ The intention is to create a historic journey which takes place in the present within the Bangkok Arts & Cultural Center, a journey which showcases the defining experiences and aspects of life in late 19th century and early 20th century Siam.

The audience moves in parallel with King Chulalongkorn as he travels throughout Siam with his family, an experience that is both calm and intimate. The King’s travels end in disruption, of which serves to be reflective of change in Siam. Change is neither immediate nor abrupt, however, as the audience unhurriedly experiences a range of emotions: a sense of stillness from the everyday, a sense of curiosity and fun that comes with the presence of new cultures and perspectives in unexpected places, and an excitement that arises out movement and change. In the end, we journey with Siam from the reigns of King Rama V to King Rama VII as the country moves forward to become what it is today.

In July 2018, an exhibition was organized by the National Archives of Thailand and Thai Beverage PLC at the National Gallery (Bangkok) to celebrate the registration of national glass plate negatives as UNESCO’s Memory of the World. Every year thereafter, The National Archives plans to open boxes of glass plate negatives in consecutive order, thereby selecting 1000 photos of which will be further curated for the public. This exhibition is a curation of glass plate photos selected by the National Archives for this year, and is a collaboration between The Fine Arts Department, Thai Beverage PLC, and The Photographic Art Foundation.


Hey Nico! I hope that you’re safe and well during these strange times. I wanted to consult you about something.
Two years ago, you and I met at the Glass Plates Exhibition at the National Gallery in 2018. That exhibition was organized in celebration of the registration of glass plate photography and UNESCO’s Memory of the World. Every year thereafter, The National Archives had planned to open boxes of glass plate negatives in consecutive order, thereby selecting 1000 photos of which will be further curated for the public. I was asked by the Fine Arts Department and Thai Beverage to help develop an exhibition which would be a curation of glass plate photos selected by the National Archives for this year. Yet again, this exhibition is a collaboration between The Fine Arts Department, Thai Beverage PLC, and The Photographic Art Foundation.

At current, i’m developing an online version of this Glass Plates Exhibition on the Google Arts and Culture platform. And I wanted to ask if it would be possible to interview and film you showing us how glass plate photography works and is done. Like a mini online workshop. And we can possibly discuss on video about glass plate photography in the modern day. It might be possible that the video would not only be on the Google Platform but also on a communications outlet such as The Cloud. What are your thoughts on this?