Further to my post about scientific research in mainland Southeast Asia, I thought it was worth drawing further reader attention to the great work done by Thomas Geissmann and his collaborators. They produce an annual Gibbon Journal which has grown into a substantial undertaking – the last two editions have been 80-pages long. The content ranges across the length and breadth of East and Southeast Asia.

The most recent edition, which was published in May 2008, includes scientific papers that may be of considerable interest to the environmentally-minded portion of the New Mandala readership. This latest edition also showcases Geissmann’s research on gibbon paintings in China, Japan and Korea. It is, even for those without a core interest in gibbons, certainly worth a look. In a message to New Mandala he wrote:

I would love to write a second study on the gibbon paintings in other parts of SE Asia, but I found only a few isolated pictures, so far, maybe three in Thailand, two in Laos, one in Malaysia. Any additional information or jpgs would be welcome.

If there are readers out there who have ideas about gibbon-related art in Southeast Asia I’m sure Dr Geissmann would be delighted to hear from you.