Phenomena & Prophecies, a retrospective of Manit Sriwanichpoom's photographs, opened at G23 in Bangkok on 23rd April. The exhibition will close on 18th July.
Most of the images feature Manit's trademark 'Pink Man', the conspicuous consumer portrayed by Sompong Tawee, including the truly shocking Horror In Pink series (shown previously in
From Message To Media). (At the opening reception, Sompong posed for photographs with visitors.) There are also portraits of soldiers posing for snapshots after
the 2006 coup, ironic commentaries on politics-as-spectacle that echo Manit's recent contributions to
Rupture.
Manit's photographs are also similar to those found in Tranquil Coup d'Etat Thai Style (รถถัง ดอกไม้ รอยยิ้มและน้ำตา), a collection of images by photojournalists published in 2006 that portrays the coup as a benign or even welcome event. Similarly, ปฏิวัติเงียบ
49 ล้มทักษิณ ประมวลภาพ-ข่าวอีกหน้าหนึ่งที่ประวัติศาสตร์ต้องจารึก (‘the silent revolution ’06: Thaksin’s downfall — a collection of photos and news, another page that history must record’) was a souvenir book published shortly after the coup, celebrating the removal of Thaksin Shinawatra.
