Built on the banks of the Ganges River, the Indian city of Varanasi is known for its rich cultural, spiritual and religious history - integral to sacred Hindu rituals, its waters purfying and used to wash away sins.
With its vibrant, spiritual and mysterious vibes, Varanasi is a city that Thai street photographers recommend as a "must place" to visit.
Photographer Kanrapee Chokpaiboon took this advice and first visited Varanasi with his friends and colleagues from 2018 to 2019, and fell in love with the city. After his fourth visit, he began compiling his collection of intriguing photos, with plans to publish a book and display his work at an exhibition. However, publishing a book of photographs is far from cheap, so he decided to concentrate first on an exhibition of his art, which he titled “The Good Place”.
“I feel connected with Varanasi because I am fascinated by its rituals, stories, people and atmosphere. My friends and I enjoyed taking photos there every day. The exhibition's name, The Good Place, can also mean ‘heaven’. Varanasi is a sacred city with a long history where people have performed the same rites for thousands of years. The Ganges is a significant river for the city. Everything that happens in Varanasi, such as traditional rituals, customary and religious activities and beliefs, is tied to the Ganges,” Kanrapee said.
During his first trip to Varanasi, Kanrapee made friends with a boatman, Saga, who took him on an exploration of the lives of the people living in the ancient city.
“I told Saga that my friends and I would like to visit places that were not tourist attractions. Saga is from the working class, so when we were in his social circle we felt very down to earth. One day, I told him that I would like to attend a wedding ceremony. Fortunately, a friend of Saga's was getting married the next day, so we went as wedding guests,” he said.
“It was a most impressive event. We participated in the wedding procession and they let us bless the bride and groom at the ceremony. The bride wore a lot of accessories and painted her hands red, while the groom painted his feet red. I feel that every ceremony connects to the Ganges River. The wedding ceremony lasted until the morning of the next day and then the couple went to the Ganges River and dipped their legs in the waters.”
"The Good Place" runs at WHOOP!, Seacon Square Srinagarindra until April 9. Admission is free. It is divided into three zones - Heaven, the Ganges River and Hell. Kanrapee’s mockup photo book is in the middle of the room. The entire floor is covered with silver paper to represent the Ganges River. The concept is that when visitors step in the room, they are walking on the Ganges River.
“Indian people told me that social status can be determined by amount of wood used in the funeral [pyre at the cremation ceremony. Rich people can afford enough fire wood, so the body of their loved one can be turned turn to ashes and then be scattered in the Ganges River. Poor people who cannot afford much fire wood may have to throw parts of the deceased’s body into the river. I saw cremation services every day when I was in Varanasi. This has been the custom for thousands of years and the funeral fires on the banks of the Ganges River are never extinguished.”
Heaven, which is on the left wall, starts with photos of spirits and the Trishula, which is the weapon of the Hindu deity Shiva. There are photos which Kanrapee took during Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours. One photo shows a painting of Shiva stained by people throwing colours on it during Holi.
On the middle wall, a photo of a boat on a blue background surrounded with spirits depicts the connection between the two opposing worlds.
“The photo of the boat is something personal. I am interested in the mystery of the spiritual world. In The Good Place the boat is a vehicle which connects heaven and hell. What appears to be tiny insects in the photos represent spirits in Varanasi,” said Kanrapee.
The other side of the wall represents Hell and displays dark, eerie and disturbing photos such as a man holding a snake in his hand, a man holding a goat head in front of his face, bones and a skull.
“Hell is a desert, void of any kind of man-made construction. In the past, people performed rituals for their deceased here. Now, it is just another tourist attraction.”
Born and raised in Chiang Mai, Kanrapee earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts at Payap University. He started making a living as a fashion photographer. Then he went to study English for six months in Australia, where he went to see an exhibition by Australian street photographer Jesse Marlow.
Marlow’s work sparked Kanrapee’s interest in street photography. He later joined the group Street Photo Thailand to learn about street photography and went on to study in New York. While in the Big Apple, he attended a workshop with renowned street photographer Dirty Harry.
“I was lucky because after the workshop, Harry took me with him to take photos on the street. At that stage, I was pressuring myself to find a best shot in just a day or a week. Harry told me that photography is subjective. It can be anything that means something to me. I do not have to find one best shot. Instead, I can create a project which consists of many photos. Harry’s advice helped me to focus on myself. I used to judge my work based on other people’s opinions,” Kanrapee said.
In Varanasi, Kanrapee enjoyed taking many portraits of Indian people. He confessed that in the past he had photographed strangers without any interaction with them, but he did not feel good about it.
“I did not want to feel that way again, so I spoke to people before I photographed them. When I complimented them on their clothes or makeup I really meant it, and I wanted them to feel proud to have their photos taken. One woman with a scar on her neck was worried when I took her photo, but after I showed it to her she was very happy. She told me that no one had ever taken such a beautiful photo of her before,” the photographer said.
Kanrapee still works as a fashion photographer and set up the online magazine arctribemag.com - which aims to discover talented Asian photographers.
Asked what kind of advice that he had for aspiring photographers, Kanrapee said young photographers should listen to themselves.
“Aspiring photographers should view a lot of work and take a lot of photos. After that, they should reflect on themselves and believe in themselves because we should not focus on other people’s comments. I used to be like that, and it did not work. We should apply what we learn from others and use it to create our own style.”
"The Good Place" continues at WHOOP! in Seacon Square Srinagarindra until April 9. Admission is free. For more information, visit facebook.com/hubofphotographybangkok and facebook.com/kanrapee.chok.
