“Love of Sky and Ground” by Kamonlak Sukchai
Here is an exploration of relationship between sex and beliefs that has been flowing in two parallel streams in Thai culture.
“This theme has contributed to many of my body of work in the past and continues to be here and now.” as she mentioned. Kamonlak Sukchai was born and raised in Ratchaburi Province, quite a rural area at the time. However, when she departed to Bangkok her eyes were wide open to this new world, where the standard of a ‘good woman’ is ripped apart. “I’m a product of a conservative family. My father and my relatives lives in the countryside, the same place where I was born. I was brought up the same way, to be assembled by social norm of reserving my self so I can be called a ‘good woman’ in traditional Thai way.”
Her work is explicit and sharp. It can rip you apart just like she had. Her work invokes rawness of sexual experiment that sure is messy and out of place. Moreover, she incorporates incense stick burnings in some of her photos. Incense sticks are often used in Buddhist rituals. She uses this to expand on the idea of sexual indulgence as a sin. Also in terms of social construct in which topic of sex is considered taboo and should not be discussed publicly.
Attempting to find meaning of sexuality from an old belief in Southeast Asia and to experiment with photography. “Love of Sky and Ground” is erotic scenes between a man and woman named Sky and Ground. This is a gender representation in Southeast Asian’s belief before the coming of Indian Civilization, when masculinity and femininity are tied with nature. As ‘Gods’ ruled the sky and ‘Goddesses’ ruled the earth, together spawned offsprings through divine sex acts.
Kamonlak Sukchai
Born in Thailand in 1994, grew up in Ratchaburi Province. She graduated Bachelor of Arts majoring in Production design in cinema. Her destination career-wise was to be a screenwriter. After she graduated life took a big turn and that was the beginning of her photography career. She received a new film camera(Pentax k1000) from her father which he used when he was a teenager and taught her how use it. Afterwards, she became deeply interested in photography. She is a self taught photographer who refuse to stop learning. Then her life as a photographer continues on until now.