Photographs

About the Project

Arriving in Thailand, on my first visit to Asia, was disorienting in a way that previous overseas trips hadn’t been. For the first time, I couldn’t make head nor tail out of any written signs. Everything from getting around to identifying shops and restaurants just worked differently.

And so I got out and walked – around the neighborhoods we stayed in, and around the many Buddhist temples we visited. I made image after image; this is how I understand a new place. At first, the differences that make traveling delightful were all I could take in.

As I kept walking and looking my focus was repeatedly drawn to the handcrafted details of what I saw around me. Spectacular temple buildings covered with intricate and opulent decorations, quiet doorsteps with flowers beautifully set afloat in vessels of water – all created by artists, past and present. Although I will never know the names of these creators, I felt a deep connection to them through our shared drive to find, create, and honor the beauty of the world around us. This is at the center of what makes us human.