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Through discarded monk robes and intimate storytelling, Eda Sriprom invites us to walk the quiet space between faith, self and creation.
Phanlert “Eda” Sriprom is a mixed-media trans artist heavily influenced by Buddhism based in Berlin. Her works focus on her personal story and the message behind it, and have been exhibited internationally from Bangkok to Basel and Berlin. Thought-provoking and visually arresting, most of her work is shaped by her Buddhist upbringing and her experience of growing up trans in Thailand.
“I see art as a platform for exploring questions, very personal ones. When I’m working, I focus on visualising something that doesn’t exist yet.”
As Koktail sits down with her, we explore together her vision and mindset when it comes to art.
Personal Story Becomes Art
The first theme we delve into is how Eda embarked on her journey of self-discovery.
Eda began her career as a fashion designer, using fashion as a tool to express herself, both in terms of gender and in exploring how her inner and outer selves could coexist. Fashion has long been a major influence on her life and her work.
“I grew up in a pretty typical Thai middle-class background. Being trans, which wasn’t exactly a conventional identity back then and still isn’t entirely now, naturally made me start questioning gender. At first those questions were mostly external – how I dressed, wore make-up, grew my hair – trying to make the outside match what I felt inside.”
Over time, however, creating art that simply tells the story of her life was no longer enough. As she explains:
“It wasn’t enough. The inside and the outside both needed to align. Once I’d sorted the external part, I began turning inward. That led me to explore other paths, and one option was turning to the temple. Listening to Buddhist teachings, I wondered if Dhamma could offer answers. As I studied more, I became more involved in Buddhism simply as a lay follower at first. But the more I learned, the more I felt that I actually wanted to ordain. I genuinely reached a point where I wanted to become a monk. But because of my gender identity, that simply wasn’t possible. And that raised a new question: why? Why was ordination so inaccessible for someone like me? If I truly wanted to ordain, what were my options?”
Questions arose, and from that JESUISEDA was born. Eda was invited to participate in the 2020 group exhibition A Room Full of Women at ATT19, Bangkok, where her piece explored the significance of ordination in the Buddhist learning journey. In Thailand strict rules restricting ordination to men make it nearly impossible for people of other genders to take part.
With JESUISEDA as a commentary on these limitations, Eda reimagined the ritual by creating a “spiritual uniform” crafted entirely from collected handkerchiefs, fashioned to resemble a monk’s robe. Through this photographic documentation, she challenges conventional ideas about who can embark on a spiritual journey, inviting viewers to reflect on the possibilities for gender and spirituality in today’s fluid society.
Reimagining Monk’s Robes into Art and Reflection
“After creating that earlier work, JESUISEDA, the project naturally led me deeper into the history of the monk’s robe itself: why women are forbidden to touch it, why the colour is orange and how the robe is made. The more I explored these questions, the more layers I uncovered. Beyond the “contrast” of the fabric, there was something else that hardly anyone seemed to mention: the condition of the monk’s robe.”
The second theme emerged from Eda’s research, which further inspired her to focus on storytelling and the material itself. The condition of these robes is, in many ways, excessive. In Thai Buddhist culture, giving is considered merit, and offering robes is one of the most common ways to earn it. However monastic rules state that monks may only possess three robes, which they must use until completely worn out. Traditionally, when monks lived in forests, robes naturally deteriorated through daily use. Today many monks live in urban temples, where their robes rarely face such wear and tear.
Yet donations continue unabated. Because monks are not permitted to refuse offerings, they must accept everything that is given, causing temples to accumulate robes far faster than they can use them.
“When I spoke to monks, to sangha organisations and to friends who had ordained, I realised just how significant this issue is. Even a small forest monastery needs a very large room simply to store robes: unused robes, used robes, robes too new to discard, robes too old to wear. And the larger the temple, the larger this storage room becomes.
Now imagine Thailand with around 40,000 temples. That means thousands of storage rooms, all filled with robes that cannot be thrown away, cannot be refused and cannot be properly used. It struck me that this material – this overlooked, unspoken-about fabric, is both a symbol of faith and a symbol of a quiet, accumulating problem.”
For Eda this became a turning point. She saw that these robes could be “material waiting to be transformed”.
“As an artist, I am not here to create rules or design waste-management campaigns. But I can use my platform to tell these stories, to create awareness and to offer another choice – a different way of seeing. If my artwork can communicate that belief itself has consequences and that “doing good” isn’t always as simple as we assume, then perhaps it can soften the edges of the problem.
At the very least art can open a door. And I hope my work can become that door, an entry point, a conversation, a gentle call to look again at the things we believe, the things we give and the things we leave behind.”
This exploration culminated in her large-scale installation, The Little Big Happy Buddha, at the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland in 2022. Sculpted from discarded monk textiles, the work offers visitors an intimate encounter with the Buddha. Inspired by Buddhism’s teachings to live fully in the present, the installation encourages each viewer to form a personal relationship with it. While the Buddha and Buddhism are often seen as symbols of happiness, Eda reminds us they signify much more. By engaging physically and emotionally with the sculpture, visitors are invited on a spiritual journey where art and religion converge.
Building Spaces of Meaning: Eda’s Evolving Artistic Vision
“Over time I’ve been gradually building a small space where people can experience my work and see how this form of expression exists within Buddhism. Step by step, especially in Thailand, I’ve been showing that it’s not as radical as it might seem at first. Over the years, as I continue creating, people begin to see it as more and more normative, which is very important. The community in Thailand has grown stronger and more supportive. My audience has expanded and I’ve learned a great deal from different exhibitions and from people sharing their experiences. This has brought about significant change, and in many ways, Bangkok has become much more open to it.”
Eda has shown her work across the globe, mostly in Germany. She continues to voice her artistic vision in various exhibitions and has been recognised by numerous publications for her approach and exploration of gender, spirituality and materiality.
“Most of my work has been deeply personal, a conversation of questions and answers. Early on I used myself as the medium. Now I try to step back, let the work speak quietly, and create a more harmonious dialogue with both Buddhism and the audience. I’ve done the screaming; now it’s time to find my place and let the work engage the world thoughtfully.”
