Versions of 'venice'

Bangkok is sometimes referred to as the "Venice of the East", an idea that is taken to heart by the organisers of a new photography exhibition at Siam Paragon. The show, titled "Beauty & Soul of Venice and Bangkok", displays photos of the Italian city taken by photographer Daniele Dainelli alongside snapshots of the Thai capital taken by the recently deceased Surat Osathanugrah.

The artists focus on the cities' canals, producing photographs that reflect both the bustling activity of boats whizzing by and the enduring stillness of the local architecture. At first glance, the exhibit appears to highlight the similarities between these two cities. Nowhere is this intent more apparent than at the entrance of the gallery, where the viewer is confronted with two striking images side by side. On the left, a photograph by Dainelli presents a murky, narrow canal, with light flickering in a distance over the turquoise, eerily misty waters. To the right, a black-and-white photograph by Surat shows a boat passing by the foggy klongs of Bangkok, while an Italian-looking bridge dominates the foreground of the image. These two photos present the viewer with a basic premise: for all their differences, Bangkok and Venice really do look alike.

The exhibit soon extends beyond this basic premise displaying a range of images that go beyond Bangkok's status as a mere "Venice of the East". Instead, it presents Bangkok and Venice as vastly differing cities seen through fundamentally different lenses.

When the spectator enters the main space of the exhibit, he is faced with two different paths. To the left, 20 colour prints by Dainelli are aligned along the wall, allowing for

a full, uninterrupted view of the Venice canals. Facing

those photos to the right, 20 black-and-white prints by Surat invite the viewer to take in Bangkok's own distinctive waterways.

This separation allows the viewer to take the two artists - and the two cities - as individual entities. Rather than encouraging contrived similarities hinted at in the show's title and display photos, the two adjacent walls permit us to appreciate the artists' differing visions.

While Dainelli's Venice is brought alive through its colours - a vibrant blue impossibly extends from the night sky onto the water - Surat's Bangkok is pure black and white. While Dainelli's Venice has something of an eternal air, Surat's Bangkok remains steeped in modernity, even when the artist shoots traditional homes surrounded by unobstructed nature.

The two artists' styles reflect the idiosyncratic beauty and shortcomings of the two cities. In one of Dainelli's more memorable photographs, a flock of birds fly into the distance as we gaze at Venice's gorgeously historical cityscape from across the canal. What struck me about the image was not the movement of these birds, but their stillness. We are left to reflect on the utterly beautiful shapes formed by them stuck in mid-flight - motionless in a city defined by its past.

In Surat's most striking image, we are similarly presented with stillness and movement, but to an entirely different effect. As a commuter boat speeds along the klong, waves violently thrust to and fro. On the pier, countless Thais fill a waiting area and bridge, presumably anticipating the arrival of their boat.  The modern architecture of more recent buildings surrounded by electrical wires and antennae line the background, and the photo leaves the viewer with a distinct sense of "now". These people are waiting, but they are in movement - active parts of an ever-changing cityscape.

The curators of "Beauty & Soul of Venice and Bangkok" have put together a visually enticing exhibit, while undermining the show's very premise: that Bangkok is essentially a "Venice of the East". The exhibit is worth a look if you are in the Siam area. It is being presented as part of "Siam Paragon Italian Festa 2008", which wraps up today.