Photography on Buddhism in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Ladhak, Nepal and Korea

Southeast Asia tour dates

> Colombo, Sri Lanka: 22 February - 28 March 2007
> Galle, Sri Lanka: 6 - 29 October 2007
> Bangkok, Thailand: 8 - 27 November 2007
> Phnom Penh, Cambodia: 12 December 2007 - 31 January 2008
>> Hanoi, Vietnam: 27 March - 25 April 2008

> New Delhi, India: 25 October - 22 November 2008 (view details in the right column)

A Swiss Arts Event in Asia, coordinated by CrossCulture.


The Oasis Story

At the age of 19 Beat Presser travelled through Southeast Asia, and met with a car accident in Thailand. He was healed from a serious spine injury by monks in a Buddhist monastery, and he vowed to do something in return, should he become the photographer he intended to be.
      Between 2000 and 2004 Beat Presser came back to live in monasteries in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and travelled extensively, capturing the essence of Buddhism with his lens. Oasis of Silence, a photographic art book published in 2005, was the first result.
      The artist returns from 2007 to the region with a photographic art exhibition to fulfil his promise. The event includes a multimedia presentation and a workshop for professional photographers, during which participants capture their own Oasis of Silence. The book is published in German and English, and the text is adapted to the visiting cities' language, as book insert. The workshops result in consecutive exhibitions, and in catalogues as a permanent reference.
      Apart from the Theravada countries documented in Oasis of Silence, Beat Presser continues to document Buddhism in other regions of Asia, and consecutively the exhibition tours further Buddhist countries, as well as India, the home of Buddhism. Oasis of Silence will be concluded with a regional event in Singapore, where his exhibition will be complemented with a show by selected participating photographers.
      Thus, on his "pilgrimage", Beat Presser collaborates with colleagues who join his invitation, producing their own images. They question, contradict and complement the Oasis experience. A rare, true and deep crosscultural dialogue on spirituality.

A Selection of Images from the Oasis of Silence Exhibition










Click on the images to enlarge! All images © Beat Presser 2000-2010.

See the online multimedia presentation!