--- title: The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art description: The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation... canonical: https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/ author: JOAN KOH article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2009-05-14T04:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-22T07:27:54.485Z og:title: The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art og:description: The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation... og:url: https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27370f5b0f855b11/698a4f4086f68ede716f46f5/360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 360 og:image:height: 203 og:image:alt: 360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art twitter:description: The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27370f5b0f855b11/698a4f4086f68ede716f46f5/360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg?branch=production&width=360&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art > Sponsored content. 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Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is included in a TIME print and digital subscription? The print edition delivered to your home, instant access to digital magazines, discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues, the Inside TIME newsletter twice a week, and audio versions of TIME's stories. It is from $29 for one year or $49 for two years at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is the difference between TIME's digital and print plans? Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories. #### Is TIME a reliable news source? TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=e3fc03b4-c407-47bb-b73e-76111f9ea6d8&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=e3fc03b4-c407-47bb-b73e-76111f9ea6d8&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) by [JOAN KOH](https://time.com/author/joan-koh/) May 14, 2009 4:00 AM UTC  Heaven on earth: Created by artist Chalermchai, Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple, is a celebration of Buddhist thought Heaven on earth: Created by artist Chalermchai, Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple, is a celebration of Buddhist thought Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters by [JOAN KOH](https://time.com/author/joan-koh/) May 14, 2009 4:00 AM UTC The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation — just as Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat intended. “To reach heaven, you need to pass suffering,” the 54-year-old says in his trademark booming voice. Nirvana in this case is Wat Rong Khun, or White Temple, a spectacular, ornately carved building painted white to symbolize purity. Part of a project that Chalermchai started in 1997, the compelling ubosot, or assembly hall, is one of the three main structures at the sprawling White Temple complex (tel: (66) 5367 3579), a 6.4-acre (2.6 hectare) site in his native Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. When devout Buddhist Chalermchai’s project is complete — with the help of 67 disciples, he hopes it’ll be done by 2070 — he will have created nine equally intricate buildings, including a crematorium, each one teaching grand lessons in morality. “Every human has to see this,” he says. “This is my way, and a good way, to give back to the world.” The artist, revered both for his feisty personality (he admits to occasionally having an “abusive tongue”) and provocative contemporary Buddhist art, still wakes at 2 a.m. to meditate and then scrutinize the stucco motifs by flashlight. He writes in his book Creating Buddhist Art for the Land, “I love and am attached to my project like all parents who want to see the success of their children. That’s why I suffer every time when things don’t come out as I’ve expected. This is the dharma principle that I hold to be my mentor these days. As I build, I also practice dharma.” ([See Time.com/Travel for city guides, stories and advice.](https://www.time.com/time/travel)) A 30-minute drive from heaven, you can find hell. Black House is so named because the 40 huts that make up the work are mostly painted in artist Thawan Duchanee’s favorite hue, which is often associated with the diabolical. The huts are dedicated to promoting contemporary art, whether it comes in the form of an immaculately composed rock garden, an elaborately carved door evocative of a temple, or vast sculptures. The bushy-bearded artist says he wants to breathe life into the otherwise inanimate structures. “The Black House evokes the past Thai civilization in a contemporary manner,” says Thawan. “I try to bring the spirit, heart and soul in their life \[into the pieces\].” His 33-year-old project is a poetic work in progress: he has plans for another five houses, to be completed within three years. As well as being a repository of museum-worthy art — including Thawan’s own — from all over the world, Black House, tel: (66-8) 9767 4444, is also a shrine to the artist’s collection of animal skins and bones. Dismissing the myths surrounding his bizarre collection — thought by many to be mysterious — if not ghoulish, the controversial 70-year-old, who professes to be nonreligious, maintains that “they mean nothing. They are for study, to help me with anatomy, form and function.” Is Black House the flipside of the virtuous White Temple, or is that reading too much into their close proximity? Thawan is noncommittal: “Why do people say this is hell? Like the John Lennon song, there’s no heaven above and no hell below.” [See TIME’s Global Adviser for exotic, beautiful and interesting getaways.](https://www.time.com/time/travel/tipsadvice/globaladviser) _Got an awful travel gripe? The Avenger may be able to sort it out for you._ [Click here to tell us your problem.](https://www.time.com/time/travel/avenger/form) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/"},"headline":"The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art","datePublished":"2009-05-14T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-22T07:27:54.485Z","description":"The 500 sculptured concrete arms that rise beneath the bridge, seemingly seeking emancipation from a bottomless pit, create an arresting image of anguish and desperation...","url":"https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27370f5b0f855b11/698a4f4086f68ede716f46f5/360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"JOAN KOH","url":"https://time.com/author/joan-koh/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27370f5b0f855b11/698a4f4086f68ede716f46f5/360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"360_tga_thailand_0525.jpg","caption":"Heaven on earth: Created by artist Chalermchai, Wat Rong Khun, or the White Temple, is a celebration of Buddhist thought","creditText":"Chaiwat Subprasom / Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6937974/the-dark-and-the-light-side-of-thai-art/","name":"The Dark and the Light Side of Thai Art"}}]}] ```