In Thailand today, there are different cultures, religions, and social standards cohabitating together. The project “LadyB” came from collaborating with the Thai model and performer Phanuwat Srirachat. The inspirational idea was to showcase different points of view on the hopes and efforts of a young group of Thai transgenders that are living in Bangkok. Putting together Mattia’s realistic photography and the model’s selfies and Instagram images of themselves, the project aims to show without judgment how the different perspectives may help to build a better understanding of the whole.
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This project aspires to help the Thai LGBT community share this part of Thai sexual culture with the world. LadyB is seeking help from many young Thai creatives. All the models portrayed in LadyB had complete freedom to be represented as they desired. The diversity allowed models the freedom to express their ideas through portraits mixed with self-expression and social media in this exhibition.
Starting in 1995, Mattia Baldi, the esteemed photographer who splits his time between commercial and fine art, tends to favour human rights, gender problems and new standards of beauty in advertising and fashion. His first publication is a photographic statement about different beauty standards called Casting: a Book About Women, published by Seipersei in 2020. In the LadyB project, he shared “I plan to make it a travelling exhibition and present this part of Thai culture to the world. Nile Viralee, the exhibition curator shared “The models’ expressed themselves authentically. This remarkable exhibition has the unique ability to connect with a multigenerational audience and we are thrilled to be part of it”.
Event Name: LADYB CREATIVE YOUNG THAI TRANSGENDERS
Event Date: February 2 -28, 2022
Time: 12:00 p.m – 8:00 p.m.
Where: 6060 ArtSpace 27, 21 Soi Pradipat, Khet Phaya Thai
Producers: Saksit Charoensuk and Phanuwat Sriracha
Registration: A free exhibition accessible to the public
Mattia, Rome 1983, started with FineArt In 1995, He began working as a painter and b/w ink illustrator for magazines and Art Fairs and in 1999 he progressed to working on oil paintings on canvas. After graduating from the Traditional Artistic High School he attended with full scholarship The Academy of Fine Art in Rome, graduating with top marks, and receiving a bachelor’s degree in Classical Painting. In the early 2000s, during his studies at the Academy, he began to understand the unique way it could assist him in his visual research on people, working closer to reality than with painting. 2004 Mattia completed his Master’s degree in Photography at S.R.F. in Rome, where he continued to develop his skills into studio work and large format photography.
A year after his Master’s in photography Mattia decided to move to Asia. His first location was Beijing. Mattia’s interest in Asia was based on his immense curiosity toward Taoism, Eastern religions and traditional Chinese beliefs. Living in Beijing across the Olympic games was an incredible experience. Working as a photographer as well as studying ancient Chinese culture Mattia passed in Beijing for several years. Mattia moved to Thailand hired as In-house Photographer for WPP Advertising Agencies. In 2019 Mattia started his own photography studio business working in Singapore, Shanghai, and Bangkok where he’s currently based. Shooting global campaigns Mattia is always keen to select his commercial projects favouring: human rights, gender problems and new standards of beauty in advertising and fashion. Splitting his time between commercial and Fine Art Mattia managed in 2020 to publish his first photography book (Seipersei publishing), “Casting a Book About Women” research on different standards of beauty in today’s fashion business. The book was well-received by critics and audiences, currently distributed by the major bookstores in 5 countries.
The project “LadyB” came from the cooperation with the Thai model and performer Phanuwat Srirachat and the idea of representing from different points of view the hopes and efforts of this young group of Thai transgenders that are living in Bangkok. Putting together Mattia realistic photography and the model’s selfies and Instagram images of themselves the project want to show without judgement how the different perspectives may help to build a better understanding of the whole. Mattia says that “We want to show that Thailand is not only cheap selling of bodies and criminality but there is an emerging new generation that deserves respect and proper space where to express themselves”. LadyB is seeking help from many young Thai creatives, the curator Nile Viralee and the fashion model Saksit Charoensuk are promoting as well as assisting the production of the various operations. All the models portrayed in LadyB had complete freedom to be represented as they want, they picked makeup and style, they all contributed immensely to the general creativity of the project.
LadyB will start as an exhibition that will travel in Asia and Europe and later will become a photographic book. Currently, the project is looking for investors and institutions who are willing to promote gender equality and the LGTB community.
The goal of this work is to look into the current creative and fashion world from the point of view of GenZ Thai Ladyboys. This series will focus on Thai young guys that are hoping to enter the emerging Thai Social Media business, music and the Asian fashion world. They want to be influencers, fashion designers and music producers keeping their lifestyle intact. My photographs will be printed side by side with pictures that they have taken of themself, Selfies and IG posts, so to compare the complex issue of the sense of the self that today the young generations have to face. Fashion styles, gender and beliefs are today at a new starting point and I found a good way to discuss this by showing this meaningful kind of people. This project comes from the idea of Mattia Baldi and the Thai model and performer Phanuwat Srirachat. Being an influential member of the young generation of Thai ladyboys in Bangkok Srirachat is working as the main producer of this project selecting the models to shoot and directing the operations. The models come to the shoot with their own clothes and makeup style. We want to show the reality as it is, showing the models Instagram account pictures, how do they look and want they want to communicate their message.
Kathoey, or “ladyboys,” are biological males who openly function in Thai society as transsexuals or transvestites. The ladyboy represents a gender position that is unique in that it has a national identity. Although kathoey (pronounced “kateuyee”) may embody gender in ways familiar to cultures outside Thailand (most similar to transsexuals or transvestites), they are different in that their gender operates in society in a sanctioned way. They are part of Thai society and history and have existed openly for hundreds of years. “Northern Thai legend suggests that the pre-modern Thai sex/gender system was based on a model of the three genders: male, female and kathoey” (Totman 2003, p. 82).
Thailand is the only nation in its region that resisted colonization by European powers and sometimes is seen as having a set of cultural values less influenced by outside pressures, including normative heterosexuality and binary gender. In terms of sexual activity, the majority of kathoey are homosexuals, but some are heterosexual or bisexual. Not all homosexuals are kathoey in Thailand. There is a large gay community in Thailand, especially in Bangkok, to which the kathoey do not specifically belong. As in other cultures, homosexuality in Thailand is accepted or rejected to various degrees by individuals but does not enjoy the widespread cultural sanction of the kathoey. There is widespread cultural acceptance of kathoey, and several have become celebrities like models and singers. Thai universities maintain dormitories specifically for kathoey students and support them.
Another interesting aspect of the Project is the model’s social media perspective and expression through collaboration with the artist. A question arises in terms of identity. Even today, there is more openness to accepting diversity than ever before. Now, people start to understand to be aware of Social bullying more Partly influenced by the quickness of social media. that makes modern people understand the rapid change both of real skin and beauty does not depend on a standard that allows a ladyboy to express herself freely. Although people began to open their minds, but the viewpoint of Thai people in the pre-Generation Z still believed in culture, religion, traditions through visual culture making the diversity still strange than the original understanding which is connected to the original belief.
www.mattiabaldi.com
www.instagram.com/mattiabaldi_personal
