Bones and the Black House

Baandam, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Black House

About half an hour from Chiang Rai, you get to see Baandam, or the Black House, built by the Thai artist Thawan Duchanee. This work is the polar opposite of the White Temple, which I covered in my earlier post. The artist himself was a student of the Chalermchai Kositpipat, who built the White Temple, but whereas Chalermchai went towards the ethereal and the spiritual, Thawan seems to have gone down the dark route. The two works of art are actually referred to as Heaven and Hell. 

The Main Hall

The Black house is built on a sprawling acreage which has about 40 structures including the late artist's home (he died in September last year) and art works inside comprise structures and furniture shaped like or made from skeletal remains of animals. Quite morbid if you ask me but also a weirdly fascinating peek into the artist's mind.

Funky Table  Runner

They have these long tables running the length of the hall with snake skins of all snake varieties running down the length of them. You need to spend some time here as well as at the White Temple so keep a day in hand to stroll at your leisure. You can couple the two works of art with a trip to Doi Tung, a small hillside village which houses the royal palace for Thailand's Princess Mother. The lawns are supposed to be quite spectacular but we missed it as we combined too many things that day. White Temple, Black House, Doi Tung for lunch as well as the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. Its better to split it up into two days and keep a whole day just for the Golden Triangle otherwise you'll end up missing a lot (as we did). 

Bony chair

The chair was just a piece of the vast array of art work featuring skeletal remains. God I need a better camera than my two year old Samsung S3! It's just so handy though, and light!

Didn't spot my uncle taking pictures until I downloaded the pic! He seemed to blend in from afar.

Front View

God in the Midst of His Basic Creation

Python on the Lawns

Wonder if this one is going to end up on a table too.