Last year, Prof Nantawat Boramanand, former dean of the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University and a lawyer with a passion for photography, held his debut exhibition "Black & White Memories" at the Thailand Creative & Design Center.
The show raised over 700,000 baht for the Foundation For The Blind in Thailand under the royal patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother. On the last day of the exhibition, Nantawat met with hearing-impaired students, explaining the ideas behind the photos with the help of a sign language teacher. From there, he decided to offer help to the hearing impaired.
"I talked to people at the Foundation for the Deaf under Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother about what they needed. They told me that a cochlear implant can help children hear and learn how to speak, but the cost of each one is about 500,000 baht. I spoke to healthcare workers at Rajavithi Hospital where children had implant surgeries and discovered some currently are university lecturers. There are opportunities for children with hearing loss if they are able to hear," said Nantawat.
To raise funds for a cochlear implant, Nantawat held his current black and white photo exhibition "The Tale Of Two Cities" at Central: The Original Store. Donors can donate directly to the Foundation for the Deaf at the exhibition.
The exhibition narrates the story of lives in Paris and Bangkok. Paris is like a second home for Nantawat since he earned a doctorate and master's in public law from the Université Paris II Panthéon Assas. Since 1998, he has served as a visiting professor of constitutional comparative study at a university in the south of France.
"As a person who has spent many years in Paris, I have many favourite places I visit regularly including a café, a bakery and a church. After getting off the plane, I go straight to pay respects to St Mary in a Catholic church where I often prayed as a student. Before going back to Bangkok, I purchase local brand name clothes and personal items that I like. I also stay at a friend's house, so whenever I visit Paris, I feel like I am home," said Nantawat.
Photos of Bangkok in the exhibition were taken during the Covid-19 lockdown when Nantawat roamed the capital, taking many interesting photographs.
"I was at rallies where I photographed containers, signs denouncing the government, surrounded by barbed wire. I also took photos of long lines of people queuing up for Covid-19 vaccines, out of business stores and homeless people. While I organised photos for this exhibition, I found these photos to be gloomy; people would not purchase them. To raise funds, I selected landscape photos instead," he said.
Photos of landscapes in Bangkok include one with a bicycle at Talad Noi with the backdrop of a cat painting, a rainy shot of Democracy Monument and the Buddha statue, Phra Buddha Setthamuni, in Wat Suthat.
"I like to photograph temples where not many people visit. I like Phra Buddha Setthamuni though it is not the main Buddha image in Wat Suthat. During the reign of King Rama III, the king wanted people to stop smoking opium. Brass opium boxes and pipes were melted down to build Phra Buddha Setthamuni," Nantawat explained.
Photos of landscapes in Paris were taken last March. It was his first flight after Covid-19 lockdown measures were eased. Paris landscape photographs include the Tuileries Garden, Canal Saint-Martin and the corner between two streets -- Rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie and Boulevard Saint-Germain.
"The charm of Paris is everything about the city, from its historical architecture and people to stores. It is not only Paris. Places in Europe have this kind of charm; their cities are beautiful, so people like to travel to Europe. The way Parisians spend time socialising is different. They usually hang out at a café for many hours before they dine together. Unlike Bangkok, where people like to visit only new parks, parks in Paris really are a place for hanging out, resting and relaxing," he said.
"The charm of Bangkok is small alleys. I joined many walking tours to see and photograph historical houses and abandoned temples in Bangkok. This kind of tour allows people to see another side of the capital," added Nantawat.
Nantawat began taking photos in primary school, using his late father's camera, and harnessed his talents further as a student in Paris. He began shooting black and white images after purchasing a Leica Monochrom.
"I especially like black and white images because they allow viewers to use their imagination. There are no boundaries and it's challenging. Viewers can create any colour in their minds after viewing black and white photographs," Nantawat said.
As a law lecturer at Chulalongkorn University for several decades, Nantawat has authored many textbooks and headed various research projects, winning awards along the way. During the early days of the internet boom, Nantawat created the website public-law.net. He is currently retired although Chulalongkorn has asked him to continue as a lecturer. But he has loftier ideas.
"Photography lets me do what I want to do and I want to do something useful. I plan to have a project in collaboration with many established artists to raise funds for cochlear implants for more children at the end of the year," he said.
"The Tale Of Two Cities" runs at Central: The Original Store, Level 4, until Sunday. For more information, visit facebook.com/central.theoriginalstore. To donate for cochlear implants, visit deafthai.org and facebook.com/deafthaifoundation.
