Art viewers are invited to ponder the journey of beautiful flowers during "Yummy Rose", which will kick off this Saturday and run daily from 11am to 8pm until July 21, at Hop Photo Gallery, 3rd floor of Seacon Square, Srinakarin Road.
This is a solo exhibition by Naraphat Sakarthornsap who uses flowers to convey profound meanings when presenting stories of inequality in society and gender discrimination through photography and installation art.
This show, however, touches on the production, consumption and trading of flowers in Pak Khlong Talat, a flower market in downtown Bangkok. It particularly focuses on market manipulation and the price control of flowers.
It emphasises observing the fresh flower purchasing industry, which impacts production and brings renewed attention to the origins of flowers that bloom from the dedication of gardeners.
The artist showcases images of a hundred red roses that journeyed from farms in Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The shaking force from their journey on trucks caused some to lose their shape.
Naraphat's work presents the transformation of flowers for consumption, reflecting the image of raw material management before being sold as products and entering a business process where the exploitation of gardeners appears.
The consumption lifestyle persists through the use of products that respond to needs, while manufacturing companies create desires beyond necessity using media as a tool.
This leads viewers to perceive that the existence of these beautiful floral plants is only an indication of social status, leaving behind thought about the labour who sweat in producing these flowers.
Email hop.project.th@gmail.com.