Dreamworld: Review for FoRMATS

Dreamworld is Leo Fabrizio’s photographic essay surveying the effects of post-globalization in Thailand. The publication consists of a series of over 82 color photographs in landscape format. Encased in a glossy book jacket, the laminated quality of the cover is reminiscent of a travel brochure inviting tourists to vacation in the pacified scene of this “Dreamworld”. 

However, Fabrizio’s photographs offer a more serious documentary critique of Thailand, reversing our expectation of entering a “dreamworld” as presented in the cover image. Instead, the series progresses into a case study of contemporary Thai architecture that depicts an environment growing more rapidly into a state of monotony. Scenes of repetition direct the collection, developing a visual symmetry that drills in the concept of uniformity reflected in Thai architecture. For example, a series featuring the homogenized façades of houses demonstrates the Western suburban icon of empty box scenery. Scenes of highway underpasses, empty streets, and telephone wires vanish into points of vast infinity, establishing a feeling of cultural vacancy. 

Introducing the collection are two essays, published in French and English, which help contextualize Western influence and the social and spatial consequences that arise from international integration of “Thai-ness”. Ultimately, Fabrizio’s lens observes the relationship between the landscape of Bangkok’s suburbia and the social archetypes of Thai culture.

Originally published for FoRMATS Facebook page: February 3rd, 2014