The Everyday Durga in Bangkok (ดะิลย ดุรงะ ิ฿ะงกโก)
The idea, as in the previous times, is to catch a slice of the daily life of a normal woman in the city. For a busy city like Bangkok the daily hustle of commuting through traffic, the tuk-tuks, the scooties, the subway, the Grab taxis - these are the things that would catch one’s eye first! Some moment of respite catching up with a few friends, enjoying a slice of mango or a refreshing drink of coconut water - the simple pleasures of life.
Anna Zabayratskaya better known as Ana Sun (แอนนา ซัน) who has been living and working in Bangkok for the past 6-7 years, would be the perfect muse for the project. She has been a model and actor and her face in quite well known in Thailand due to the numerous bill boards and TVCs that she has done.
She is half Indian-Ukrainian and half Thai-German, and is a serious student of Yoga and Indian mysticism. Even before I presented the idea, she knew all about Shakti, Durga and the position of women in Indian mythologies.
For this project she did her own makeup and we draped the saree in a traditional Thai style of draping the Pha Biang or Sabai - the Thai version of a shawl.