The Mourners

Mourners come from all across Thailand to the Royal Palace in Bangkok to pay respects to the late King Rama IX. The black and white mourning attire rarely reveals the trade or status of the person photographed — in the way August Sander used dress to define his survey of German folk in the early 1900s. The available white background and monochrome clothing helps to concentrate on the presence of the subject (much indebted to Richard Avedon and his “In The American West”) but with telling details referencing the King: a pin, medallions or a necklace, photographs or flowers as offerings. Sanders roamed Rhineland and Avedon the American West to find farmers, laborers, aristocrats, politicians, artists, truckers, misfits and drifters. I did not have to search and wander the country because the panoply of Thai people came to gather at one spot. The array of faces and skin tones I have photographed shows a great grayscale rainbow that make up the diverse people of Thailand.