Seeing Borobudar

Architectural photography is where Se found his niche and in Seeing Borobudur he turns his expert eye on the world’s largest Buddhist monument in Central Java, Indonesia. Dating back to the 9th century, the UNESCO World Heritage site features thousands of stunning relief panels and hundreds of statues set within incredible temple architecture. This book offers a unique perspective on these treasures, taking readers on an in-depth exploration of the temple and the different religious stories, myths and depictions of everyday life found in the panels, which are generally considered to be some of the most exquisite of the ancient Buddhist world.

Richard Se is a Singaporean photographer who has traveled the world over in pursuit of his favourite subjects, which are buildings, places of interest and monuments. He captures them through the eyes of an architect and an artist.

Richard completed his architectural studies at the National University of Singapore in 1996. He worked as an architect from 1996 to 1999. His knowledge of architecture influenced him in seeing the environment through his camera lens. After a brief practice in architecture, he decided to pursue his other passion, which is photography. Over the years, he had opportunities photographing some of the most unique and beautiful resorts around the world. He has worked closely with Trina Dingler, and Adrian Zecha the founder of the Aman Resorts. Richard has also worked extensively with Jaya Ibrahim, photographing and documenting Jaya’s international architecture and design projects in Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Mexico. Richard has accumulated a body of photography work that goes beyond architecture, monuments and destinations to include people, fashion and culture. When he is not working on commission, Richard explores on his own, going to less traveled places, photographing his favourite subjects, capturing the world as he sees it. (Richard Se’s body of work can be viewed at www.richardse.com)

Seeing Borobudur - Lalita Vistara Reliefs is Richard’s debut photography book published by Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers. It marks his lifelong, continuing admiration for and dedication to seeing Borobudur.

T.K. Sabapathy has published extensively on histories of art and artists in Southeast Asia. He is currently an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore offering courses in histories of art. He is highly regarded as a writer and teacher.