Thailand, Photography

Kanok Suriyasat

05.14.08

Kanok Suriyasat used to be a fashion/advertising photographer but he has since stopped being one, as he believes that it is a sin to lie to people.

He has an interesting set of images up in his portfolio, reminiscent of hand-painted photographs of old, with a touch of modernism (under color paint).

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See Me
© Kanok Suriyasat

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Untitled, BKK, Thailand
© Kanok Suriyasat

He has a flickr account with an eclectic selection of works.

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News, China

Sichuan: Earthquake

05.13.08

Depressing news from China circulating the media about the earthquake that struck Sichuan province earlier today. More than 12,000 people dead and many more still stuck under rubble. The government is seeking aid from the international community, while rescue teams continue battling storms to save survivors.

(via Reuters)

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Hong Kong, Photography

Wing Shya

05.10.08

Wing Shya shoots on movie sets and his personal work exudes the charm of watching a movie.

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© Wing Shya

He was the still photographer for several Wong Kar Wai movies and boasts an impressive client list.

Visit his portfolio to see more.

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Myanmar, News

Myanmar: Cyclone Nargis

05.07.08

Very shocking news from the cyclone that ravaged through Myanmar over the weekend - almost 22,500 dead with a further 41,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands without food, water and shelter. The military government is seeking help from the international community, yet they are placing excessive and unnecessary conditions on aid. The problem is compounded with bad transportation to many afflicted areas, mainly in villages around the Irrawaddy delta. Scenes of mass destruction and corpses strewn across rice fields can be seen in most of these places; one town suffered almost 10,000 deaths.

I hope that the military junta relents and let aid in. They cannot just sit back and watch the entire country suffer.

(via Yahoo! News)

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Thailand, Documentary, Photography

Suthep Kritsanavarin

05.06.08

It’s strange to find a photographer associated with catfish but it probably has to do with Suthep Kritsanavarin’s series, Four Thousand Island…Where the Mekong Die?

In this documentary project, Suthep focused his sight on the fishermen whose daily lives depend on the Mekong river’s giant catfish and other endangered species.

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TOP TO BOTTOM, Four Thousand Island…Where the Mekong Die?
© Suthep Kritsanavarin

More images can be viewed here and here.

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Japan, Contemporary, Photography

Mamoru Tsukada

05.03.08

In the world of Mamoru Tsukada, photography exists as a medium to relate himself to the world and its invisible structures. In Spectre, the subject matter is not apparent at first glance - we see bold splashes of color, abstract shapes…

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TOP TO BOTTOM, Spectre, 2006
© Mamoru Tsukada

He explains:

“The new works ‘SPECTER’ have been created using a humorous and physical way putting masks over a camera lens. I use this technique in order to create an image of the inside and outside of masks at same time, in two dimensions. Front is back and back is front. This work is to reveal the ‘optic nerve’ rather than sight, which reflects and challenges how blind people recognize the world.”

See more of his works here and here.

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Japan, Photography

Rachi Akira

04.30.08

Rachi Akira is a recent graduate of UK’s The Arts Institute at Bournemouth. His work is deceptively simple and works on many levels.

Akira:

“something poetic can be political, and something political can be poetic”

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TOP TO BOTTOM, Field (6×7), 2004-2007
© Rachi Akira

Pure and simple like a haiku. His portfolio can be seen here.

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China, Contemporary, Photography

Liu Bolin

04.27.08

The individual ceases to exist in Liu Bolin’s Hiding in the City series.

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TOP TO BOTTOM, Hiding in the City
© Liu Bolin

China is now in a paradox of adopting capitalist values and economic dreams which exist within an anachronistic communist framework. Within this context of a desperate leap towards a “modern” future, Bolin suggests the disintegration of the individual. He has commented, “Indulged in the development he has achieved, man is in fact digging his own grave with his greed… Instead of playing an active role in a dominant position, man… characterizes his existence with gradual and self-incurred disintegration.”

Liu Bolin is currently showing in a group show at Galerie Bertin-Toublanc, Paris, from April 5 to May 31.

For more images, click here.

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China, Contemporary, Photography

Cai Weidong

04.24.08

Cai Weidong’s works are infused with traditional and modern influences. In Landscapes and Substances, black and white photographs are heavily manipulated to mimic Chinese scroll paintings.

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TOP AND BOTTOM, Details 2 and 5, Landscapes and Substances, 2000 - 2004
© Cai Weidong

He moved on to using mirrors in his photos, which I found to be a tad unsettling.

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Mirrors, 2005
© Cai Weidong

He also staged fictional historical events in his latest work.

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Eight Day of the Twelfth Lunar Month, 2008
© Cai Weidong

See the rest of Landscapes here. Other works can be seen here. He doesn’t have an online portfolio but his blog (in Chinese) contains some random snippets of images and words.

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Events, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Asia, Photography

SIngapore International Photography Festival

04.22.08

Some exciting news coming from home - the inaugural Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) is slated to be held from Oct 8 to 31. It’s going to be a biennial event, to provide a platform for local and Southeast Asian artists to showcase their works alongside their international peers in various venues across Singapore.

I spoke with the organizers yesterday and it is going to be a blast. There would also be workshops and lectures for 30 selected Southeast Asian photographers under 35. Some big names would be flown in from around the world to attend and speak during the festival. There would be exhibitions, portfolio reviews, talks and parties! The entire event is run by volunteers and while it may not be as big as Arles or Chobi Mela, it’s the first of its kind in the region and hopefully would become an internationally renowned name in the future.

The call for entry can be viewed here.

Edit: The website’s been updated. Visit now!

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