Nontawat Numbenchapol

Mr. Shadow 5

The series of prints titled Mr. Shadow by Nontawat Numbenchapol engages with the history of and current state of militarization in Thailand. Each print features an invisible person, their silhouette only outlined by the military fatigues that they wear. The faceless figure in each work is pictured either in solitude or interacting with other camouflage-swathed ghosts. Ironically, the camouflage attire of each figure is the only part of them that is not erased by the artist. Photographed on a mountain range at the border between Shan State in Myanmar and Northern Thailand, the Mr. Shadow series epitomizes the haunting presence and effects of a militarized modernity and nation-state building across the region.

In this iteration of the photo series, a solitary figure in full military fatigues leans against the base of a tree, assumedly strumming a guitar to pass the time. Though the compositions and imagery may differ across the images, what ties this series together is tension; there is a discernible sense of latent expectancy or apprehension that permeates the figures in waiting. Though the compositions and imagery may differ across the images, what ties this series together is a temporal tension; there is a discernible sense of latent expectancy or apprehension that permeates the figures in waiting.