Take Your Seat, Thailand, an immersive exhibition by Canadian father-and-son photographers Randy and Spencer VanDerStarren, is featured at the Peninsula Hotel Bangkok from now until May 31.
Debuting in 2014, Take Your Seat is an ongoing photography project that collaborates with local communities and friends around the globe. The local embrace allows artists to experience and share authentic journeys as photographers, adventurers and storytellers.
A survivor of a shark attack, erupting volcanoes and charging bulls, Randy is a film graduate from Ontario who has worked for many high-profile multinational advertising agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, Young & Rubicam, BBDO and Scali McCabe Sloves. Randy has won numerous awards for advertising, art and photojournalism and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
His son Spencer earned a degree in Sustainable International Business from the US and has lived and worked in Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, Athens, Toronto and Montréal. His global perspective on preserving the planet shines in his photographs and digital work.
Sharing the same passion and inspiration, they decided to travel the world and use the director's chair to symbolise taking charge. Their masterly works can be found in exhibitions, airports, embassies and homes around the world. The duo was named Photojournalists of the Year in 2022 by the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.
Their Thailand series is part of the Peninsula Bangkok's Artist in Residence Programme that features in-house artists every three months who display original works conceptualised while staying in the hotel. The exhibition explores the regions of Thailand over four separate expeditions, capturing inspiring images that showcase the beauty of the Land of Smiles and its people.
The exhibition extends from the hotel's front lobby to its signature Thai-style boats on the Chao Phraya River bank. Celebrated DJ, musician and conservationist Note Panayanggool also created an aural atmospheric sound for the large-scale murals that encircle the garden and the interactive studio.
The exhibition is open to the public. For more information, call 02-020-2888.
