Main Exhibition
Glass Plate Negatives: Circles of Centres
Organised by: Fine Arts Department, National Archives of Thailand
Project Supporters: Ministry of Culture, Sirivadhanabhakdi Foundation, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, The Royal Photographic Society of Thailand, The Photographic Arts Foundation, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)
Curator / Project Director: Thanphuying Sirikitiya Jensen
Exhibition Designer/Graphic Designer: Jaitip Jaidee
Production Installer: Thakol Khaosaad
Translator: Arthid Sheravanichkul
Glass Plate Negatives: Circles of Centres
Special Exhibition
As Part of the Project Glass Plate Negatives: A Thousand Historical Images of Rattanakosin — 3rd Edition B.E. 2568 (2025)
This exhibition is a curation of glass plate photographs by the National Archives of Thailand for this year. This is a collaboration between the Fine Arts Department, Sirivadhanabhakdi Foundation, Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, The Royal Photographic Society of Thailand and The Photographic Arts Foundation.
In Glass Plate Negatives: Circles of Centres, Southeast Asia is a divinely-imbued world. As one walks out of the centre of the mandala towards the periphery, there is no sense of place, boundaries, latitude or longitude. Yet, no matter where one goes, everything feels familiar. An essential element permeates every facet of this story, binding layers of ancient philosophy and political discourse. This was the period in which King Chulalongkorn of Siam reigned. It was the height of colonial expansion in Southeast Asia. Siam began to evolve from a mandala to a modern Nation-State, with defined borders and a bureaucratic apparatus.
On a different continent entirely, it was another lifetime. Roland Barthes, French philosopher, mourned the loss of his mother. In his novella, Camera Lucida, Barthes sorts through photographs, hoping to find her. Barthes deconstructs and rexamines photography, as an artform from the perspective of the observer. He wonders why particular photographs hold his gaze over others. Barthes poses the question: “how can we change the way we see a photograph?”
Circles of Centres documents a unique time period in Siamese history through the lens of Roland Barthes. The intention is to capture a moment right before change. King Chulalongkorn rests at the centre of Siam, navigating the complexities of a world in flux. In these photographs, one experiences all the lives the King lives, not only in Bangkok but also on trips throughout mainland Southeast Asia from Prachuab Khiri Khan to Songkhla, and further south to Sultanates, such as Terengganu, and beyond.
For More Information:
The National Archives of Thailand, Fine Arts Department
Tel: 02-2811599 ext. 228
Email: [email protected]
Image Gallery
