While visiting Thailand in 2006, different types of altars and sacred sites were documented, in an attempt to understand the esoteric nature of Bangkok as a phenomenologically constructed environment. Among innumerable examples are these 3 with drastically different scale and intended uses.
In Bangkok, an old bus shelter on the sidewalk of a busy street has been converted into an altar for Buddhist offerings. This elaborate and unlikely display is an outpost in the secular world, aiming to engage passersby on a busy street.
This makeshift restaurant was configured (massive cast iron oven and all) inside an industrial garage and open to the street. It’s movie-set ambiance was palpable. The altar in the back shows a level of reverence for family ritual, and gives this public space a very private vibe.
Wat Arun is a temple and tourist destination that draws millions each year to visit and make offerings. In processing this image, surreal colors and a removal of human-scale markers seemed to suit the bizarre aspects of this monument too well. Up close, you see that it is entirely tiled with broken dishes – junk porcelain from mainland China used as shipping ballast and left here in the course of trade.