Tibet in 1938-1939: Photographs from the Ernst Schäfer Expedition to Tibet

With oil paintings by Thai artist Atipong Padanupong

To coincide with the international conference “Archiving Culture in the Digital Age” at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirinthorn Anthropology Center, this exhibition is based on Serindia’s book of the same title, which recounts the history and illustrates photographs of the German expedition led by Ernst Schäfer to Tibet in 1938. It is one of the most fascinating period in Tibet’s history as Western powers vie for access to Asia. The photographs - portraits, landscapes, cultural interactions - are of important anthropological and historical values, casting new light in the contemporary history of Tibet.

Thai artist, Atipong Padanupong, an avid photographer and painter who is at once fascinated by Tibet and Himalayan cultures, contributed his oil paintings of Tibetan portraits for the exhibition