Last friday I visited River City BANGKOK. They host the “Unlock” Minimalist Photography Exhibition at RCB Photographers’ Gallery.
In this exhibition the photographer, Phichai Keawvichit, nickname “Eak”. I followed him on Instagram a long time ago. I like his minimalist photographers. I was happy to see his Photography Exhibition.
Eak is an art enthusiast and photographer who had imprisoned his artistic urges and creativity for two decades before unlocking them with his camera. His photography is a celebration of the minimalist movement. The 26 photographs in the exhibition reveal his journey in four distinct chapters of his life.
Journey 1 is Unlock the Fear
Eak grew up in what he remembers as a “blackbox – a small, dark, suffocating room. Amidst the darkness, the only light was his imagination, which he used as a way to escape from his suffering. While feeling passionate about art and feeling a desire to be an artist, the voice of fear kept told him that art could feed his soul but not his stomach. So, for over 20 years he ignored his passion and worked on the street instead in order to support his family. As days went by, the darkness of his childhood returned. One day, he stopped listening to the fear that imprisoned him, and answered to his artistic desire. After 20 years Eak finally saw the light.
Journey 2 is Unlock Himself
Eak’s world will never be the same. Since unlocking his creativity, he feels comfortable, safe, and warm. His imagination is unstoppable and he is pleased with what he sees. A building that he has driven past every day suddenly looks different.
What he now sees looking through his camera lens are angles, colours, shadows, light and shapes. He started to share his work on Instagram, which, in turn became the door that led him into a new world: new friends, new people, and a whole new life.
JOURNEY 3 IS UNLOCK PERSPECTIVE
Now followed by more than 80,000 people, Phichai gained a reputation as a photographer who captures the essence of Bangkok in a unique way.
Starkness is the trap that he struggled to break free of, but here it is turning up in his photographs as minimalism. “Why only minimalism?” he asks himself. With this he started to doubt his potential. So to challenge himself, Phichai travelled out of Bangkok to explore different cities. His aim was to find inspiration far from minimalism.
But instead he found minimalism everywhere he went. It was the core of his artwork. Minimalism was not about the scenery, but was the peace and simplicity in his heart.
JOURNEY 4 IS UNLOCK THE FUTURE
Eak now looks at himself as a full|-time artist.
He wants to develop his minimalist styles in different mediums. He imagines installations and moving images. More than anything else, he hopes to inspire people to unlock the art imprisoned in ourselves.
Hope you like my post. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Stay safe and take care!
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