12 Thai Values

The 12 Thai Values is a conceptual exploration of national identity, cultural assimilation, and historical narrative through the medium of coins, examining how state ideology is embedded within everyday objects. Focusing on the balance between Thai currency and the 12 Cultural Mandates (1939) and 12 Core Values (2014) issued by the Thai government. By presenting coins as artifacts of the institution, the series discusses how objects can reinforce national identity and cultural norms to its people and foreigners.

The coins used for this series are my grandfather’s coin collection, spanning the 1930s to 2019. This collection serves as an archive of political objects, embodying institutional cultural policies that have shaped my Northern Thai Chinese heritage.

Through the use of macro photography, the project amplifies the details of these coins, shifting them from functional objects to ideological symbols. The combination of light, texture, and scale isolates the coin’s engravings, showcases to the viewers a new perspective on everyday objects and to reconsider an object that is usually overlooked on a daily basis.