Bangkok From The Passenger Seat
Dale Konstanz, artist and photographer, originally from the US, has been riding around in Bangkok taxis for the past four years documenting the sacred decorations, religious icons, and pop culture paraphernalia inside the cabs. In addition to idolizing gods that resemble humans and animals, many Thais worship trees, plants, and other entities from the natural world. These animist beliefs have their origin in ancient times, so it’s fascinating to see these practices carried on today in the modern day context of taxi cabs. In this particular case, branches from a sacred bodhi tree have been tied together with various strings and cloth that function as blessings.
In his blog, Still Life in Moving Vehicles, he ruminates about his findings in the taxis accompanied by his colourful photographs. His blog has gained a large following and has recently been named by CNN Go as one of six top blogs about Thailand.