Abbas - Buddhist monks resting under mosquito nets. Bangkok, Thailand, 1982

Abbas. Buddhist monks resting under mosquito nets. Bangkok, Thailand, 1982.

'Copyright Abbas / Magnum Photos / Contrasto' at the lower right corner. Total dimensions: 42,0 x 29,7 cm on semi-gloss paper. Good condition. Printed Lated, 2000's.

In this photograph taken in Bangkok in 1982, Abbas distils the everyday spirituality of Theravada Buddhism into a single, quietly mesmerising frame. By the edge of a pond, Buddhist monks rest beneath their mosquito nets —large cloth structures tied and suspended above the ground, floating like sculptural forms among the trees.

The interplay between the stillness of the monks and the hovering textiles generates a gentle visual tension: part ritual, part intimacy, part contemplation. Abbas transforms a simple moment of monastic rest into a meditation on fragility, discipline, and the relationship between the human body, the natural world, and spiritual practice.

A member of Magnum Photos since 1981, Abbas travelled through Iran, India, South Africa, Mexico and Southeast Asia documenting religion, revolution and the complex spaces where conflict and devotion meet. From Iran Diary to Allah O Akbar, his work is marked by an unflinching, humanistic eye seeking the essence of belief and the subtleties of cultural ritual.

This Bangkok scene is emblematic of his approach: carefully structured, atmospherically rich, and profoundly attuned to the spiritual dimension of daily life.

Abbas stands alongside photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, Marc Riboud, Raymond Depardon, Alex Webb and Raghu Rai, whose work explored the intersection of ritual, culture and social change with clarity and poetic restraint.

A compelling piece for collectors of documentary, spiritual and humanist photography —an instant where time seems suspended, mirroring the floating mosquito nets above the monks.