It was a humid, overcast day in Chiang Rai as I jumped into a tuk tuk bound for the bus station. Following my afternoon exploring the fascinating and highly bizarre White Temple , I was now off to discover another uncompromisingly weird exhibition of traditional and modern art. Located half an hour outside the city centre, my destination was the Baan Dam Museum , better known to foreign tourists as The Black House Museum.
Or simply Black House. Everyone, it seemed, had a different opinion. Thus my curiosity was piqued, as the bus chugged out of the station. Thawan Duchanee was a renowned painter, sculptor, engraver and architect.
He drew inspiration from Thai, Japanese, Indian and Chinese art. In he created the museum we see today, though back then it functioned simply as his home with a couple of onsite art studios. However, Duchanee had grand plans. Over the next 36 years he developed and expanded his land, building numerous wooden houses, pavilions, halls and huts.
Some served as art exhibits, workshops and studios. Others he used as meeting rooms and lecture spaces in addition to housing for the art students who came to live here.
Now this was certainly a whole other vibe compared to the White Temple. Whereas the White Temple is predominantly a celebration of goodness and purity, Black House champions interpretations of death and the darker, more melancholic sides of human nature.
