Thasnai's idea of Thailand is just as elusive as his presentation. He is mounting three exhibitions in as many locations. Here in the U.S., we will see Thailand through the photos of Japanese tourists. In Bangkok, there will be pictures of Thailand taken by Thai people. In Osaka, visitors will see American tourists' photos of Thailand. We imagine that this experiment could be extended indefinitely by including photos of Thailand taken by tourists of all countries.

Thasnai gave us over 400 photos and insisted that we use every one. There were nine sets of photos. Each one was banded together to distinguish between photographers or the days on which they were taken. Some photographers have taken pictures not only of the same places, but of the same people. One man, who we have given a variety of nicknames, appears in at least seventy-five different photos.

Thasnai gave us free reign to assemble these photos however we saw fit. At times, we have shown continuity within one author's snapshots. We have also chosen our own groupings based on personal affinities and observations: groups of Coke and Pepsi logos, groups of people eating, images of solitary people standing in front of temples, or photos of that annoyingly pervasive man in every possible bodily gesture. Thasnai has added another level of distance and cultural interpretation by allowing Temporary Services to find our own ways to organize these tourist photos. 

Thasnai has engaged these ideas in the past. He asked these questions in a less direct manner in a show at Monk Parakeet in Chicago simply titled "Temple." He organized a series of events to showcase Thai people and how they have adapted to living in the United States. Thasnai recreated a Thai market place and served authentic Thai food at the opening. There were demonstrations of Thai dancing and monks offered a blessing of the event. The gardens outside the presentation space had large paintings with Thai script depicting scenes from Thailand. A favorite part of the evening, aside from the food, was signing along to karaoke reading English approximations of the Thai language.

The presentation of the material in this exhibition is disjointed. You would not get a complete sense of everything that it offers, even if you saw its counter parts in Bangkok and Osaka. This is not, then, a group of shows on a common theme. Entering each of our own neighborhoods is a very different adventure, depending on oneís race, economic status, or simply oneís state of mind. 

When tourists and travelers take snapshots, are they attempting to document an objective portrait of the matters at hand? Or are these merely memory aids? A  businessman takes a photo of the Chiang Mai train schedule to compare to all the other stations he has passed through. A smirking teenager poses with two glamourous showgirls for bragging proof to his buddies at home. A young woman takes a portrait surrounded by extended elderly relations so her future child knows where her name comes from. 

Do we take pictures on holiday to remember? Or for others to remember? Sometimes, we take photos of things we have never seen before or are convinced we wonít see again. We remember a high school trip to Florida because of our photos. Everyone gasped at the palm trees, realizing that Floridians would probably not gasp at the elms and oaks littering our midwestern city. 

How then do we arrive at a collective sense of place? Or the ability to call something "Thailand?" Who gets to have the "correct" version? Is it now our version of Thailand, or Japan, or of Chicago? The buildings, flora, and fauna that we choose to see are the only ones that will exist in our memory. 

When we compare "our" city with another's travels, we may find that nothing coexists. "I didn't think Osaka was very exciting," says a friend who arrived in a rain storm and spent most of his time darting from cab to hotel. "Chicago's crazy. I don't know why you live there," says another who was mugged at the airport. 

So Thailand, or any land, is not solely our idea. Thasnai pays homage to many "ideas" of his country of birth by allowing us to see this diversity of perspectives, thereby giving the viewer a more whole experience than one might achieve by embarking on their own series of tours. 
 

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