In the Presence of Absence

On the surface, the photographs in Ampannee Satoh’s most recent solo exhibition, “Port of Refuge”—shown at the UP Vargas Museum in the Philippines from April 30 to June 18—might appear as mere semi-documentary images or local landscapes from La Rochelle, France, and the artist's hometown of Pattani. This, however, is far from the case. Those in the art world, particularly followers of this leading Thai artist, will know well that each piece is rich with context, laden with histories of trauma, and open to interpretation shaped by the viewer’s own background.

Above all, Ampannee Satoh’s work possesses a profound aesthetic quality that makes it compelling to view, no matter how heavy the content. This is achieved through meticulous composition, photographic technique, and a deliberate choice of palette—be it monochrome or color—which the artist skillfully selects to communicate the narrative behind each series. She seamlessly incorporates painterly techniques into her photography, a practice that extends to her own performances within her self-portraits.

This is true even for a seemingly simple diptych of a vast seascape. The two perfectly paired images exude a romantic beauty—the water’s surface reflecting light from distant waves, at once serene and pleasing to the eye. Yet, behind this tranquility lies a narrative intricately woven through the artist’s symbolic work.

It is as if we are on land, looking out toward the sea’s horizon. The left image is a beach in Pattani; the right, the sea of La Rochelle, France. The concept of this pair is that one view looks out from the land, while the other looks in from the sea. Both are traces of port cities—spaces that exist in parallel from our vantage point.

A particularly compelling aspect of the exhibition at the UP Vargas Museum is a phrase from the exhibition notes describing these locations as “silent witnesses.”

The role of the photographer is to capture a moment in time, making the photograph an immutable testament to historical places. Even as time passes and the forms of buildings or landscapes may alter, these places endure—silent and steadfast.

These captured spaces, therefore, become “silent witnesses,” remembering what humans may forget. The memory of events remains hidden in the shadows, the light, the soundless structures. To photograph these places and exhibit them is to open a space for memory to speak once more—without uttering a word.

This, then, is truly “In the Presence of Absence.”

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The origins of this series began in Pattani, then moved to La Rochelle, and later to Manila.

I started conceptualizing this series when I was at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. I spent all my time by the sea. Around that time, a local political issue emerged concerning beach dredging, which was making the sea shallower and preventing local fishermen from making a living. So, I started this project to address that.

From there, it sparked a chain of thought that got me interested in borders, ports, and the city of Pattani itself. I began studying its history and discovered that Pattani was once a very important port city. My focus then shifted to the theme of port cities—whether they still exist or have long since vanished. What mattered were the traces that remain in these places today. So, I went to these areas to create a photo-documentary, capturing both still and moving images to record what the port of Pattani looks like now and what historical traces are left.

Then, as it happened, I had an artist residency in La Rochelle, France. It turned out to be a port city as well, with a history of trade that began around the same time as Pattani's. As I dug deeper, I found so many other fascinating stories, like those of the slave sailors and people being imprisoned within the city’s grand gates. So I began to document these traces, creating a series that runs parallel to the story of Pattani, another port city.

The Manila part came about because the curator was interested in my work. She saw the series and felt it could connect with Manila's own identity as a port city. So she curated the show, recontextualizing my older work within the narrative of Manila's port.

Du port de Patani au port de La Rochelle 01

id you already know the curator, or did she reach out to you?

Actually, Tessa used to work at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and had shown my work once before. After about 7 or 8 years, she contacted me again, saying she wanted to exhibit my work now that she had moved to the UP Vargas Museum. It just so happened that I had this series from La Rochelle that hadn't been shown in Thailand yet, so I offered it to her and sent over the work and the concept. She was very interested because it allowed her to write about Manila from an angle she was already exploring.

What was the reception like from the audience in Manila?

I didn't follow it too closely. The discussions were mostly along artistic lines. And Tessa herself knows me as someone from the "three provinces"—the region in Thailand that still experiences conflict.

Du port de Patani au port de La Rochelle 02

Pattani, La Rochelle, and Manila are all port cities that connect worlds, embracing both prosperity and vulnerability. Pattani was once a center of trade between Southeast Asian kingdoms and the Arab world, India, and China. La Rochelle was a key Atlantic port, at one time a hub for the slave trade and a strategic religious point. Manila, meanwhile, was the heart of the "Galleon Trade" between the Philippines and Mexico during the Spanish colonial era, a gateway connecting China, Japan, India, and Europe.

While all three cities opened themselves to the world, they also opened their gates to external powers, violence, and uncontrollable change. They share common wounds in their urban identities, marked by resistance, assimilation, and the struggle to remember.

Pattani was annexed into the modern Thai state in the 20th century, its Malay-Muslim identity suppressed, leading to chronic violence that persists to this day. La Rochelle, once a Protestant stronghold, was besieged by Catholic French forces; the Siege of 1627–1628 resulted in immense loss of life. Manila fell under Spanish colonial rule for 327 years, followed by the United States, and then Japan during World War II. Its long line of colonizers all but erased its native identity through religious intervention and unending wars, carving deep wounds into Filipino culture.

When these cities are channeled through the artist's lens, their silent presence resurrects what history has lost, allowing people to remember once more. The silent witnesses remain hidden in the shadows of mosques, pondok schools, the call to prayer (azan), and daily life. The painful memories of the slave trade and religious wars still haunt the seaside towers, fortifications, and museums of old La Rochelle. And for anyone who has visited the old city of Intramuros in Manila—once a Spanish-ruled district where natives were forbidden to enter—the testimony is visible in its ancient structures, in Fort Santiago, and in the ruins of collapsed buildings, symbols of both colonial dominance and the struggle for independence.

How many pieces were in the exhibition at the UP Vargas Museum?

There were over 20 pieces in total. None of them had ever been shown at home, in Thailand. Sometimes it’s disheartening, you know? Even Édouard, who invited me to La Rochelle, asked me why I didn’t exhibit the work in Thailand. The thing is, I'm just not the type of person who goes around asking people to put on a show for me. It was good timing when I met Tessa; she invited me to exhibit right away. But still, this body of work has not been shown in Thailand.

That’s alright. We can say that you’re gaining recognition abroad. Many famous Thai artists primarily exhibit internationally.

It still feels a little disheartening at times.

The "Port of Refuge" series, with its intensely powerful narrative, has yet to be seen by audiences in Thailand—a true shame. One can only hope that one day, a part of this collection, or perhaps the entire series, will have the chance to appear before us all. That it will not be lost, but will instead fulfill its role as a "silent witness," its voice resonating in a world where suppression, persecution, violence, alienation, and war must be confronted.

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