Wat Rong Khun
Chalermchai Kositpipat · Chiang Rai, Thailand · 1997
Wat Rong Khun, widely known as the White Temple, is artist Chalermchai Kositpipat's continuously evolving Buddhist complex. The principal hall translates familiar Thai rooflines and finials into an almost monochrome surface of white plaster and mirrored glass, producing a dazzling, deliberately otherworldly effect. A bridge crosses a sculptural field of grasping hands before reaching the sanctuary, turning entry into a narrative of temptation and liberation. Elsewhere, vivid murals and ancillary buildings mix Buddhist teaching with contemporary popular imagery. Work began in 1997 and continues as new structures and artworks are added. The project is both an active religious site and a highly personal total work of art.