Baan Dam - The Black House Museum

Baan Dam is the unique brainchild of famed Thai artist Thawan Duchanee, who started creating the open-air gallery in 1975. Spanning some 160,000 square metres, the peaceful gardens are dotted with 40 ornately decorated buildings and structures, filled to the brim with paintings, animal skulls, horns, sculptures and taxidermy.

Traditional Thai-style black wooden house with red roof, surrounded by lush greenery. Colorful banners display artistic faces in front.

With a fusion of traditional Thai art and contemporary elements, Duchanee created an architectural cosmology, taking inspiration from around South East Asia to create a singular style of his own.

The overall feeling of Baan Dam is not of foreboding but one of serenity, a visual manifestation of his intertwining philosophies and spiritual aspirations. Creosote-blackened structures are balanced by Zen rock gardens that allow plenty of room for contemplation. Crowning the ethereal Lanna structures, Kalae and Chofa finials shoot skyward, reaching away from the mundane world.

Powerful internal spaces and long shadows create ample room for new thoughts to seep in and older ones to emerge. The cluster of houses accommodate exquisite tapestries, carved furniture & over 4000 artefacts crafted during the artists lifetime.

While open to interpretation, it is believed the eccentric exhibition showcases Duchanee’s rather gothic interpretation of Buddha’s philosophy of Samsara, the continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth. His art depicts the insanity, degradation, violence, eroticism and death lurking in the heart of modern man.

Traditional wooden buildings with ornate carvings, surrounded by pottery and sculptures in a serene, leafy outdoor setting. Quiet and historic mood.

Born in 1939, Thawan Duchanee came to prominence in the 1970’s when his non-traditional, anti-mainstream representations of Buddhism caused outrage throughout Thailand. At his first solo exhibition in Thailand in 1971, a group of 80 students destroyed his paintings with box cutters.

However, through his artistic journey, he became world renown for his dynamic and totally original perspective of Thai Buddhism and in 2001, was honoured as a National artist of Thailand. Thawan Duchanee passed away in 2014 at the age of 74.

“May love bring us together; may we become the trees, streams & moments of forests, rivers and time.” - Duchanee

White statue of a bearded man next to a golden, ornate sculpture. Red and gold banners hang in a wooden room with intricate carvings.

Location: 414 Moo 13 Nang-lae, Muang, Chiang Rai, Thailand

How to get there : The Black House Museum is located around 11 km from the centre of Chiang Rai and takes 20 minutes by car, tuk-tuk or song taew to get there. There are plenty of tour operators who include this in the temple circuit, so would be the cheaper way to go.

Attraction Info : Open daily from 9am - 5pm but closed for lunch from 12pm to 1pm. The entrance fee 80THB

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Official website : http://www.thawan-duchanee.com/