LANNA SALON by Sudaporn Teja

HOP Hub of Photography and THAPFA Beauty Salon

Bangkok, Thailand

January - February 2026

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LANNA SALON by Sudaporn Teja assembles photographs of hairstyles, individuals, places, and artifacts that document beliefs woven together with local identity and historical memories. The exhibition traces the threads between the Lanna Kingdom and the Siamese State—from the past into the present—inaugurated by the era of Siam’s entanglement, as Lanna transitioned from a traditional tributary relationship to a modernized, centralized state.

 

HOP CLUB LIBRARY presents a collection of photographs, archival images, artifacts, documents and books from the research process behind the exhibitions LANNAANNAL (The Meeting Room Art Gallery, 2022) and LANNA ANNAL ANNEX (Gallery VER Project Room, 2023). These works bridge the artist’s lineage, beginning with ‘Oon Teja’ (1869–1943)—the artist’s great-great-grandfather and a traditional Lanna folk singer during the era of Lanna’s annexation into the Siamese state—and extending to ‘Lek’, a Chiang Rai hair salon owner who migrated to live and work in present-day Bangkok.

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‘Thapfa Salon’, Lek’s beauty parlor, is decorated with photographs representing various facets of her life, signifying roots, successes, relationships, and Lanna beliefs. Combined with photography by Sudaporn Teja, Preecha Pattaraumpornchai, and Gabriel Camelin, the collection mirrors the connections of the northern diaspora as their paths cross, and the overlapping imagery of a remembered homeland within the capital city.

 

LANNA SALON invites viewers to contemplate patterns of living under submerged social structures and the freedoms curtailed by the mandates of time and tradition, as documented through photography. The exhibition is open daily at HOP CLUB LIBRARY and at Thapfa Salon, presented with support from Gallery VER, The Meeting Room Art Gallery, and Museum of Popular History.