Bat Ti Bat Thom Gup Yai

As the water ran down the hill of my grandparent’s driveway into the canal that my grandmother dug in order to water her garden, I would be there building dams disrupting the flow of water. My grandmother then would begin telling me about different Buddhist teachings and would primarily discuss the ideas of reincarnation, since the disruption to her garden reminded her of the reincarnation cycle.

Reincarnation is an important theme in Thai culture and society as Theravada Buddhists make up 92.5% of the population. Reincarnation in practical form, is the understanding that everything comes to an end, a tool used to ground oneself and to maintain emotional equilibrium. 

Bat Ti Bat Thom Gup Yai is a photographic series that investigates my relationship and understanding with the Buddhist teaching of reincarnation and my association with the concept, while also exploring reincarnation’s significance to Thailand through miniatures resembling different landscapes from memory.