The House of the Raja: Splendour and Desolation in Thailand's Deep South - Hardcover

Tew Bunnag

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 6167339171 ISBN 13: 9786167339177

Publisher: River Books, 2014

Synopsis

Forgotten in Thailand's troubled Deep South, stands a dilapidated wooden palace once home to a Malay ruler, the last of his dynasty. Locals call it the 'House of the Raja', a place suffused with loss and solitude, laden with the region's glorious past and tragic present. Intrigued by this demonised, yet little-known borderland, Xavier Comas chanced upon this mysterious house. Crossing the doorway, he fell under its spell and felt compelled to delve into its past. The caretaker, a Muslim shaman who held rituals inside, invited the author to stay and initiated him into its hidden dimensions. As he builds a bond of trust with the inhabitants of the house, the missing pieces of its history gently fall into place, revealing an ancient culture long hidden and the building's ties to the centuries-old struggles in this contested region. Comas' evocative black-and-white photographs take us into a realm of hauntings, mystic powers and fading memories. His first-hand account enthralls the reader with vivid descriptions in which the real and the magical entwine. The House of the Raja provides a missing key to controversial issues of legacy, belief and identity in Thailand s Muslim South.

About this title

About the Author:

Xavier Comas is a visual artist orginally from Spain and now resident in Asia. His work has been published worldwide and he has had exhibitions in Europe and Asia. The Singapore Art Museum hosted his 'Pasajero exhibtion' and acquired his 'Jiutamai' series for their permanent collection. His work has been featured by many prominent magazines worldwide, including Spain's 'La Vangaurdia', the Japanese Art Magazine 'Quotation' and the USA's 'Time'. The photographs that make up 'The House of the Raja' were exhibited in Bangkok in 2011 and it is up for discussion whether it will, in the future, travel to Europe.

About this edition

• Publisher: River Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 6167339171
• ISBN 13: 9786167339177
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 230
• Illustrator: Xavier Comas