Costumed riot - ebb’s photobook on thai protests
Candid and Incendiary, EBB Shows Thai Protests in All their Creative and Revolutionary Fervor.
Rubber dinosaur heads, fish-faced monsters, and plastic princess crowns—these don’t sound like serious items. Still, in Thailand today, they carry deep meanings, just like the three-finger salute from The Hunger Games that became a symbol of the pro-democracy resistance ever since the students began taking the streets in early 2020. In large demonstrations across the kingdom, they ask for the dissolution of the current military government, a new constitution, and—something unprecedented—the reform of the monarchy.
But in an environment where freedom of speech can be costly, they often transfigure their claims with outlandish outfits, garish props, and convoluted performances. With the local art community forming an integral part of the movement, repression and political anger have become fuel for revolutionary creativity and artistic output. All this leads to a visual spectacle that's simultaneously militant and creative.
Photographer Kanrapee Chokpaiboon is among many artists that, beyond supporting the cause, also attend demonstrations to survey everything from an artistic lens. "The first time I went, I saw so many exciting scenes I couldn't stop myself from capturing the moment," he remembers. That's when the idea of a photo book came to him, initially intended as a collection of his own photographs, but then the concept expanded. "There were just too many other great photos of the protests flooding the internet. The book had to include multiple perspectives," he says.
Together with designer Pariwat Anantachina and his fiance, art director, and performer Prynlada Arbhabhirama, all founders of independent publishing house Arc Press, Chokpaiboon published EBB in late 2021, a photo book of the demonstrations as seen through the eyes of 21 photographers, journalists, and students—some using their phones. They wanted something to serve as a physical archive of a historical moment in Thailand. "These pictures were already on social media, on Instagram and Facebook. We curated them into a physical thing because we didn't want them to disappear in the internet void. We wanted to keep these beautiful images in a book to represent a period of change in Thailand," Arbhabhirama says.
Beauty is not the first thing that comes to mind when we think of street protests, especially when the riot police are involved and shooting tear gas bombs into the crowds, as we see in some pictures. To Arbhabhirama, however, "it's the intention that's beautiful. Even if things can get violent sometimes, we're all united," she says. With his technical knowledge, Chokpaiboon adds that the photos are also beautiful for their composition, sometimes accidental, sometimes intentional—it's the magic that happens in a split second before the moment passes.
The final outlook of the book, designed by Anantachina, was only possible once the title was chosen. The cover flap unfolds to reveal the word 'ebb,' the falling motion of the tide, in large capital letters. It's a direct allusion to the fact that, even though Thailand is being pulled back by governmental forces, it will inevitably move forward. Along with photographs, the book features tags and throw-ups by BEKOS, a local graffiti writer and a member of the politically charged T5F crew. They magnify the spirit of the streets. "This book is like the street itself; graffiti is something else that arises from the voices of people," Arbhabhirama says.
Throughout its 120 pages, EBB juxtaposes scenes of agitation, confrontation, and despair with more hopeful pictures of unity, like a shot by Panasann Pattanakulchai of a rainy afternoon in which protesters wear colorful raincoats. The three-finger salute dominates the scene, but on the lower right, we see a woman pulling her middle finger instead—a gesture that captures the general mood in the country.
Interspersed with pictures of open fires, barbed wire, and broken windshields, we see more symbolic and even humorous scenes, such as Kobkit Thitithanawat's close-up of someone in a school uniform holding a plastic dinosaur head on their lap. "It represents the young generation triumphing over the old one," Arbhabhirama explains. There has been a dynamic shift in Thai politics; Gen-Z now dominates the opposition, reverberating their concerns. They can't be too explicit, though. Thailand’s strict laws curb them from openly criticizing the government and the monarchy.
Nevertheless, a young performer captured by Krerkburin Kerngburi does it all without saying a word. He wears a mask, a golden picture frame around his neck, and holds a roll of barbed wire. The mask hides his face, and the meaning behind the barbed wire is clear. As for the frame, those who have been to Thailand know how widespread are the intricate golden frames that decorate pictures of royal family members.
EBB links the current wave of protests and many others that happened in the past. The book's foreword is by writer and social critic Sarinee Achavanuntakul, who has been vocal in her criticism of the government for decades and was consequently sued many times. She alludes to the fact that Thailand has a long and often bloody history of political instability, marked by several coups and protests like the ones we observe today.
Such history hits close to home to Arbhabhirama. Her parents took part in the infamous protests of October 6, 1976, when dozens of students were killed. They even had to flee the country for political reasons, taking refuge in China and only returning to Thailand six years later. "They support us through all this today," Arbhabhirama says of her parents. "But they're also saddened to see us fighting for almost the same things they fought for forty years ago."
Although the anti-government rhetoric has been steady throughout the years, something is new in the current wave of protests: the objections to the monarchy. This youth is getting increasingly outspoken on the issue. "The previous generation didn't discuss the monarchy openly; this is the first time it's happening, and it's getting more direct by the day, as you can see in this book," Arbhabhirama says.
According to section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, anyone who defames or insults the King and his family can face up to fifteen years in prison. Luckily, insults and fury are not that common. As Arbhabhirama explains, protesters are willing to compromise: they want the resignation of the Prime Minister, but they have no intention of abolishing the monarchy. Instead, they merely ask for reform and the institution of laws that would make taxpayer contributions more transparent and the royal family less untouchable.
Despite the negative portrayal on official media channels and the spread of misleading information on the internet, the protests are mainly peaceful. "You can say that as Thai people, we don't like confrontation. Which is another reason we express ourselves in different ways, like performances, laser, and firework shows. We try to be peaceful. But they always find a way to discredit this."
Some other things have changed when we contrast the current protests to those that happened in the past. Even under the watchful eyes of the authorities, social media now helps to spread the word about the demonstrations, to organize them, and to make everything a little safer by preventing arbitrary police violence. It also helps to internationalize the cause. Thai youth wants the world to know what they're going through by spreading powerful images like the ones in EBB through the internet, most of the time with hashtags like #whatshappeninginthailand.
The character of the protesters has changed, and so did their values. Now they're more attuned than ever to international politics, and their progressive mindset demands other types of reform, too. For instance, they're often seen carrying signs and banners for racial equality and woman's rights, and the rainbow flag is ever-present.
One of the most mesmerizing pictures in EBB, taken by Chokpaiboon himself, shows someone strolling through a demonstration wearing a blue rain cover and holding in their arms a prop that looks like a white body bag stained with blood. The rainbow flag and Bangkok's Democracy Monument are in the background. Above, the gloomy sky shows more signs of rain. Despite the bad weather, a new generation with new values takes command, carrying on the fight for those who perished in the past.
Words by Tomás Pinheiro and Lucas Tinoco
