Basically, the works of photographers mostly focus on exploring the external world. They travel to seek out things that are far away, and the truths they bring back come from discovering new things and trying to interpret what is beyond their control.

These stories usually have little to do with the photographers. Instead, it is an attempt to step into strange environments and create works from what they do not know, whether that involves people, places, or sudden events. This is especially true for street photographers, who are natural observers and improvise constantly to produce exciting photographs, which has become a key characteristic of street photography.

On the other hand, some photographers choose to explore their own spaces. They observe what happens in their personal lives, making the photographers themselves a part of the story. Photographers are not discovering new events or chasing things in the external world, instead; the people, atmosphere, and events are what they already experience and feel all the time. Photographers are no longer aliens anymore, but rather they are both the ones taking action and the ones being affected at the same time. Everything flows around them, and this privacy is turned into artworks that have a completely different taste compared to works created from the external world.

Rammy Narula created the street photography series Platform 10, a collection of images capturing events on platform 10 of Hua Lamphong train station. This work clearly demonstrates his mastery of street photography in searching for and discovering fascinating scenes of strangers' lives in open spaces. However, his series titled For My Grandmother reveals another side of his work. In this project, Rammy journeys back to interpret what happens in an intimate space, his family, and deeply touches the meaning of loss.

Instead of presenting his grandmother's relationship with the family or the grief of her passing, Rammy chooses to convey ordinary events that could be familiar memories for anyone who has a family like his. He uses what appears to be a representation of his grandmother, seamlessly blending with everything surrounding his family.

Whether it is a white curtain draping over his son, another portion blowing in the wind like the edge of a sari to reveal a wide open space, a white bird spreading its wings to fly away, or even his self-portrait bathed in light, as if an inner realization has occurred—moving beyond the loss right in front of him into a space of emotion and deep, inexpressible self-understanding. While For My Grandmother demonstrates that photography born from the artist's own story carries just as much substance and beauty as stories from afar. It is a beauty born from ambiguous symbols, which often pierce deep into the feelings of viewers who have been in similar situations, as if reinventing images of the past so they can trigger a flashback and feel those events once again alongside the artist and the photographs right before them.

About the Artist
Rammy Narula is an internationally well-known street photographer and a member of the Street Photo Thailand and Burn My Eye collectives. His series, Platform 10, was published as a photobook by Peanut Press in New York. Currently based in Bangkok, Rammy conducts photography workshops alongside his ongoing photography practice.