unvisualizing
elephants:
a PhotoVoice project
media: papier mache, photography, sculpture
location: chiang mai, thailand
year: 2023
This project occurred with Chiang Mai University students and community members in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Artists Pietro Lo Casto and Ruangsak Anuwatwimon worked on the elephant sculpture, collecting branches and other natural materials from Chiang Mai University campus. Participants visited Elephant Nature Park to learn about elephant conservation and elephant welfare, where they got up close and personal while documenting human-elephant interactions. Following the sanctuary visit, they captured images of elephants in Chiang Mai, ranging from advertisements, Buddhist imagery, royal crests, provincial signage, touristic products and souvenirs, and art. In the second meeting, participants met to discuss the photographs and the implications of human encroachment on elephant habitat and treatment of captive vs. wild elephants. In the final workshop, participants covered the wooden elephant sculpture with papier-mache of everyone’s photographs.