The Journey of SOM GENESIS
Before Himavanta, before mythical creatures filled the forest and before Som knew exactly where the journey would take her, there was a single drawing.
#1 — FAREWELL TO A KING
The first work stands apart from everything that follows. Created as a farewell to King Harald V of Norway, it belongs to the world before Himavanta. It was personal rather than mythological, and at the time it was not yet obvious that it would become the opening chapter of something much larger. But it established what would remain at the heart of the entire series: Som drawing something that meant something to her, slowly and completely by hand. From that quiet beginning, another world started to appear.
#2 — NAGA
With Naga, Thai mythology enters SOM GENESIS. The serpent deity is deeply rooted in Thai and Buddhist culture, associated with water, protection and the boundary between different worlds. For Som, Naga became the first step away from the ordinary world of the opening work. The series had found its direction. But Som was still looking at mythology from the outside.
#3 — GARUDA
Then came Garuda. Powerful, commanding and immediately recognizable across Thailand, Garuda brought a different energy into the series. The mythology was no longer simply an element within the image. It began to dominate the world Som was creating. The scale became larger. The ambition became clearer. And the distance between Som and these ancient figures began to shrink.
#4 — HANUMAN
Hanuman changed the relationship again. A modern woman stands in the foreground while the great warrior appears behind her. But he is not simply a mythological character placed beside her. He can also be read as an alter ego. Hanuman carries courage, strength and fierce loyalty. He protects, endures and refuses to abandon those he stands beside. In Som's drawing, those qualities seem to belong not only to him, but also to the woman in front of him. For the first time, mythology begins to reveal something about Som herself. The legendary figure behind her feels almost like the strength she carries within.
#5 — HONGSA
With Hongsa, the two worlds move even closer together. A contemporary Thai woman, Thai silk and a legendary creature occupy the same image naturally. There is no dramatic crossing yet. Modern Thailand and mythology simply begin to coexist. That was important. SOM GENESIS was becoming less about illustrating individual mythical beings and more about placing a living Thai woman inside a cultural landscape that has surrounded her all her life. The boundary was becoming thinner.
#6 — KINNARI
And then everything changed. Kinnari is the threshold. Here, the modern woman and the mythical being are no longer presented as two separate worlds. They begin to merge. Som is no longer standing outside mythology and looking in. She crosses the boundary. For the first half of SOM GENESIS, the legends came to Som. From this point forward, Som goes to them. She enters Himavanta.
#7 — KOCHASRI
Inside the forest, the rules are different. Kochasri is Som's first encounter after crossing into Himavanta. The mythical lion-elephant is no longer a creature transported into contemporary Thailand for the viewer to observe. Som has entered its world. She is becoming smaller within the compositions, while Himavanta becomes larger around her. The journey is now moving inward.
#8 — NARIPHON: THE LIVING GARDEN
Deeper in Himavanta, even the forest itself becomes mythical. According to the legend of Nariphon, extraordinary trees bear young women as their fruit. In Som's interpretation, the forest is crowded with them. They emerge from the vegetation until there is almost no separation between figure, plant and landscape. And among them lies Som. She is no longer cautiously approaching Himavanta. She has allowed herself to become part of it. After 45 hours and 21 minutes of drawing, The Living Garden became one of the most intricate works in the series, and a turning point in the scale of Som's imagined world. But the journey continued deeper.
#9 — KARAVIK: THE SONG OF HIMAVANTA
Then came silence. Deep inside Himavanta lives a bird whose song is said to be so beautiful that those who hear it stop to listen. Animals stop. The forest listens. And now, so does Som. After the density of Nariphon, Karavik is deliberately quieter. Som is seen from behind, listening rather than acting, accompanied by a young spirit of Himavanta. Nothing needs to be conquered. Nothing needs to happen. For a moment, the journey simply stops. And in that silence, Som is ready for what waits at the very heart of the forest.
#10 — ERAWAN: THE HEART OF HIMAVANTA
At the deepest point of the journey, Som finds Erawan. The enormous three-headed elephant dominates the ancient clearing. Som stands below, deliberately small and vulnerable against his scale. But this is not a confrontation. Erawan is not an enemy. Not something to defeat. Not something to conquer. The great elephant lowers himself toward her. After beginning the series outside mythology, after watching its creatures, walking beside them and finally crossing into their world, Som has reached the heart of Himavanta. The scale of Erawan makes the moment almost overwhelming, yet the encounter is quiet. There is no battle. Only recognition. Som has travelled as far into Himavanta as the story can take her. But reaching the heart of a journey is not the same as reaching its end.
#11 — THE WAY HOME
After meeting Erawan at the heart of Himavanta, Som begins the journey home. She follows a stream through the forest toward the light, but pauses to look back at the world she has come to know. A pink lotus floats on the water, and the path ahead grows brighter. THE WAY HOME is not another mythical encounter. It is a quiet farewell, full of gratitude and a little sadness. Som is leaving Himavanta, but the journey has changed her. Beyond the forest, an ordinary morning awaits.
#12 — THE LIGHT SHE CARRIES
The final chapter returns to Som’s everyday life in Udon Thani. Morning light fills her small room. Outside the window, the city is waking up. Som sits quietly with her phone, drawing another line. There are no mythical creatures here, no enchanted forests, and no grand farewell. The wonders of Himavanta are behind her, but the imagination that carried her there has come home with her. After 40 hours of drawing, THE LIGHT SHE CARRIES completes SOM GENESIS: twelve artworks, from the first farewell to this new beginning. The journey through Himavanta is over. Her journey as an artist continues.
Twelve artworks. One complete journey: from an ordinary farewell, through the wonders of Himavanta, to the quiet light of home. SOM GENESIS has reached its final page, but Som’s story as an artist is only beginning.