Royal Khon Performers
The ‘Khon’ (โขน) is Thailand’s sacred & traditional national performance art form which dates back to (at least) the early 16th century. Performers in this ‘masked pantomime’ wear ornate costumes & masks which represent various deity’s from Hindu lore, bringing to life the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The performers featured in these images are members of the nation’s premiere Royal Khon troupe and they perform regularly for Thai royal family, visiting dignitaries, and travel for performances at locations around the world. These performers study the art form for 10 years, from the time they begin secondary school (age 12), in order to perfect their techniques and the many movements and postures required to act out the stories of the Ramakien. The royal Khon troupe pictured here wear some of the most ornate Khon clothing and masks in the land, with performance preparation requiring assistants and hours of dressing for them to dawn their colourful costumes and character makeup.
I had the chance to shoot pictures of these very talented young people on an outing with the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand. An array of dramatic Khon scenes were prepared at ancient temple ruins in Ayuthaya, as well as a different areas of an active contemporary temple. The combination of the subjects & the authentic backdrops provided for an excellent day of photography & visual spectacle.
The soldiers and muay fighters featured in these images are members of another performance group that re-enacts scenes from King Naresuan historical drama, a famous Thai king who fought against the Burmese occupation of ancient Ayutthaya in the 16th century. Several films were made depicting the dramatic events that occurred during the time of King Naresuan, his generals, and his soldiers. These actors wore the traditional military attire and weaponry of the period and acted out action-packed fight sequences for us to photograph. The scene with the bearded man in the temple is depicting King Naresuan’s general and officers paying respect to Buddha and swearing fealty to King Naresuan to fight the Burmese and retake the capital of Ayuthaya. The ‘muay’ (boxing) demonstration was done with fighters wearing the clothing of the time period and actually delivering some powerful strikes on one another for the sake of our pictures. These gentlemen take their performances seriously and do a great job at transporting audiences back in time almost half a millenia.
The drummer & young lady dancing behind him are acting out a scene from an old folk tale. The drums he is playing are called Poeng Mang (เปิงมางคอก) and, in the story, are made of human skin. According to the legend the girl the ghost of the drums whose skin was used to make the instruments. She watches over the drummer & aides his movements to help him to be a great musician.
It was a fantastic and unique opportunity to be able to take pictures of these performers at some very picturesque locations. I’m really happy with the images that I came back with & I hope that they convey at least some the beauty of this unique cultural art form.
Read MoreI had the chance to shoot pictures of these very talented young people on an outing with the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand. An array of dramatic Khon scenes were prepared at ancient temple ruins in Ayuthaya, as well as a different areas of an active contemporary temple. The combination of the subjects & the authentic backdrops provided for an excellent day of photography & visual spectacle.
The soldiers and muay fighters featured in these images are members of another performance group that re-enacts scenes from King Naresuan historical drama, a famous Thai king who fought against the Burmese occupation of ancient Ayutthaya in the 16th century. Several films were made depicting the dramatic events that occurred during the time of King Naresuan, his generals, and his soldiers. These actors wore the traditional military attire and weaponry of the period and acted out action-packed fight sequences for us to photograph. The scene with the bearded man in the temple is depicting King Naresuan’s general and officers paying respect to Buddha and swearing fealty to King Naresuan to fight the Burmese and retake the capital of Ayuthaya. The ‘muay’ (boxing) demonstration was done with fighters wearing the clothing of the time period and actually delivering some powerful strikes on one another for the sake of our pictures. These gentlemen take their performances seriously and do a great job at transporting audiences back in time almost half a millenia.
The drummer & young lady dancing behind him are acting out a scene from an old folk tale. The drums he is playing are called Poeng Mang (เปิงมางคอก) and, in the story, are made of human skin. According to the legend the girl the ghost of the drums whose skin was used to make the instruments. She watches over the drummer & aides his movements to help him to be a great musician.
It was a fantastic and unique opportunity to be able to take pictures of these performers at some very picturesque locations. I’m really happy with the images that I came back with & I hope that they convey at least some the beauty of this unique cultural art form.
