Once nearly forgotten and lost to time, the photographs of Rabil Bunnag (1902-1999) have been brought back before the public eye.
Kathmandu Photo Gallery's latest exhibition, "Imprint Of Spirit By Rabil Bunnag", showcases a historically and photographically important trove of the late lensman, who documented the ancient ruins of Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet in the 1950s, before the Fine Art Department started restoring the sites into the tourist-friendly destinations of today.
On the walls of the small gallery space are 27 aged and yellowing black-and-white images of Khmer-inspired pagodas overrun with green creepers, brick-bare monasteries with trees shooting out of its roof, and curious-looking Buddha statues with stucco heads.
Rabil Bunnag's photographs of Sukhothai ruins in 1953 before the major renovations for tourism. Photos courtesy of Rabil Bunnag
A prominent photographer during the reign of King Rama VIII and the early reign of King Rama IX, Rabil is regarded as one of the foremost figures in Thailand's photographic history. He focused on documenting ancient ruins, artefacts and sanctuaries with a high level of skill, artistry and technical knowledge. He worked closely with the famous Suan Mokkh monastery to help identify the subjects he was photographing, and his photographs essentially helped to preserve historical architectural sites for younger generations to learn from.
Furthermore, he set up one of the first and few photographic studios under his own name in Bangkok, and also helped found the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand. But if you're wondering why his name and his works are so unknown today, it all comes down to one organisation: the Thailand National Archive.
Before his passing at the age of 97, Rabil donated some 23,000 photographs and negatives to the Thai National Archive where his historic and valuable photographs are sadly sitting in a box today. It's almost a tragedy, as Rabil once gave an interview in 1982 at 81 years old, quoted as saying: "I feel happy and at ease that I have donated all of my works to the National Archive in order to preserve the photographs to last and to be of use for future generations."
With no one being able to access the archives, Kathmandu Photo Gallery curator Manit Sriwanichpoom searched long and hard, and finally was able to get his hands on Rabil's valuable and historic works of art. Life talks to Manit on Rabil Bunnag and the search for the master's works.
How did you find out about Rabil Bunnag?
I have to thank Niwat Kongpien. Because of the 'Old Masters' project that I'm doing, I asked around if anyone knew anything about past Thai photographers. Niwat, once hearing about this, told me to look into the works of Rabil Bunnag. Then I found Chao Krung magazines published around the 1950s. There were some of his works like photographs of historical sites of Angkor Wat, but I didn't see his works in full. When Niwat brought a book -- Three Old Cities Of Siam, published in 1971, which rounded up his photos of Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet for me to see -- I felt his works were so beautiful.
I found out from one interview that he donated all his works and copyright to the Thai National Archive. I went there, but it turned out I couldn't view the photos. They're starting to scan them, but barely, just around 10 photos which aren't even his main works.
How did you finally find the original photographs?
Portrait of Rabil Bunnag − taken from unknown source. Apipar Norapoompipat
Coincidentally, Bunchar Pongpanich of the Suan Mokkh Monastery Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives brought to Bangkok Rabil's works from the Suan Mokkh Monastery in Surat Thani. I never knew about this before. I only knew that Rabil and the Suan Mokkh Monastery used to work together to create a book, but I didn't know that he gave his photographs to them as well.
Once the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives in Bangkok received the photographs, Bunchar invited me to see them. When I saw them I was so happy that the photographs still existed. But it's a shame that they have been kept in humid conditions and there was mould on them. It's also a shame that I wasn't able to view the originals in the National Archive. I wanted to see what type and size of film he used in order for me to analyse the way he worked.
Seeing the actual printed works themselves, what could you say about Rabil's skills and techniques?
Looking at it in terms of artistry, his photos are taken with extreme detail and care. He considered light and shadow. Another important aspect is that the year he took those photos -- 1953 -- you would have to be really determined to travel to the locations. You have to carry large cameras and trek through the jungle to get there. He had to do this with a lot of love and care for historical artefacts.
Nowadays people don't see the ruins like this, because it's changed so much. Sukhothai in the past and Sukhothai nowadays are different. When it had the vines and creepers, it made the area look mysterious and romantic. It's a pity that the renovation process caused these charming aspects to disappear.
It's such a shame that this generation doesn't know much about Rabil and these historic works.
Exactly. I want the National Archive to take care and proceed with publishing his works. Actually, they have asked before if these works have enough value in them to be published or not. Of course when you see them you see how special they are.
It's a shame that our history is mostly forgotten or controlled. Especially when you have a historical photo and people want to know about their past. They want to know how they came to be, and photographs are visual evidence of what the past was like. That's why photographs are so powerful. They recall the past more than words ever could.
So your gallery is the only place where anyone can view his body of work?
Yes, that's it. It's a pity. I tried contacting his relatives to get more information, but they don't remember much either. His daughters are around 80 years old with Alzheimer's, so he doesn't have much to say.
Do you know how the photographs displayed will be preserved?
From my discussions with the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, we won't touch anything. We can't take them out of the frames, as the photos will be destroyed. It's simply keeping the photographs in the original frame in a humidity-controlled room. It's just slowing down their rate of decay. The National Archive should take advantage of this and scan his pictures for the people.
"Imprint of Spirit" by Rabil Bunnag at Kathmandu Photo Gallery. Photo: Apipar Norapoompipat
