THE FLOWER MARKET OF BANGKOK (PART 1)

GESTUALITY AND DYNAMISM

#attimidiordinariafotografia

A flower shop in the street - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.

A man packs a bag of white flowers - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.

A woman cuts bananas from the branch of the plant - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.

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As I mentioned in my last post, I really like markets and the confusing, bustling atmosphere that characterises them. This time I take you to Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok's flower market. Main feature: there are no opening or closing times, it is open 24 hours a day. I would have liked to visit it at different times of the day to notice any differences, but for lack of time I chose to go in the evening, when the flowers arrive and their preparation for the next day begins.

The largest flower market in the city, it consists of an indoor part and an outdoor part that branches off into the surrounding area in the form of streets full of small shops. As you gradually arrive in the vicinity of the market, you realise you are in the right place because colourful flowers of all kinds start popping up here and there in the street. The increase in the number of people and the widespread dynamism grows in direct proportion to the proximity of the entrance doors to the pavilion.

It is from here that, in a certain sense, the most business branches out. As much as it is possible to come to a stall to buy garlands and flower arrangements in retail, the main function of the indoor hall is sales and wholesale distribution. The supply starts right from the shops in the neighbouring streets to those in more distant areas. For this reason, in addition to the customer, the figure who unquestionably masters the small lanes of passage created between one counter and another is that of the delivery man.

A continuous coming and going of men with trolleys full of boxes or bags of flowers who proceed with extreme naturalness at a brisk pace amidst people and various obstacles, very often leaving only a few millimetres to separate their load from the elements in their path. What is most surprising is their ability to adjust their pitch with small, imperceptible changes of direction that can, more often than not, prevent a slowdown in their gait.

But if the vendors spread dynamism transversally along all the perspective axes, it is the movement that characterises the gestures of the vendors at each stall that creates real vanishing points capable of capturing the observer's gaze for entire minutes. Hands that pick, separate, join, move, cut, pack with extreme precision and speed of execution. They mainly prepare floral compositions, packages with different elements used as offerings, or more simply, small and large bags full of flowers.

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A deliveryman unloads bananas at the stall - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.

A deliveryman walking with his load in the market - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.

A flower stall - Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok, Thailand.