Zhuang Wubin

Photographer/writer Wubin was commissioned by the Chinese Heritage Centre in Singapore to shoot and research on Chinatowns in Southeast Asia. The resulting work was published as a book earlier this year and he is showing his work at Bophana Audiovisual Resource Centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from July 9 – 31.

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TOP TO BOTTOM, from (”Chinatowns of Southeast Asia“)
© Zhuang Wubin, 2009

Chinatowns have always been a mainstay in most large cities in the world. During my travels, I’m inexplicably drawn to these places, perhaps due to my heritage and a longing for familiarity. Each Chinatown is unique yet similar in many ways. Wubin’s project could be easily lost without a contextual background or understanding of the subject. Do download the entire pdf to view the project in its entirety.

Visit his website to see this and other works. Also, Wubin has been researching thoroughly on photographers in Southeast Asia, of which you can read some articles on his blog.

Posted in Documentary, Singapore, Southeast Asia | 1 Comment

Mahesh Shantaram

Mahesh Shantaram is an independent art/documentary photographer based in Bangalore, India. He is working on a long-term project on Bangalore, as the city moves through an interesting transitory period.

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TOP FROM BOTTOM, (from “Bangalore: Steady State 2012“)
© Mahesh Shantaram

His project, Bangalore: Steady State 2012, documents the rapid changes the city undergoes as it moves forward to become a sprawling metropolis. The old make way for the new, the past is removed and deleted as new buildings and infrastructure spring up.

He writes:

Following a long hiatus, I returned to Bangalore only to find myself having to resettle in a city that evoked memories, and at the same time, contradicted them. Photography became a way for me to reconcile myself to changes in me and around me. These are diary notes from the conversations I will continue to have with the city I call home until the transformation is complete and it reaches its steady state.

Likewise, things here move faster than most people can managed. In the span of my one-month holiday, two new shopping centers opened and a new one is slated to launch sometime later this year. Our memories of old are often altered by the urban landscape’s unstoppable metamorphosis. Perhaps one day we would all find our peace.

For more, visit his portfolio here.

Posted in Documentary, India | 2 Comments

One-Week Hiatus

I’d be going for reservist duty again next week. Hence, there won’t be any updates for the blog. Been busy attending the various exhibition openings this week, although I wasn’t in the best of my socializing moods. Somedays I’m just tired of all that schoomzing. I would rather stay home with a good book and some music.

Posted in Blog | 2 Comments

The Voyage to the Ends of the World

My friend, Jovian Lim, recently graduated from the fine art program at NTU. His graduation piece, The Voyage to the Ends of the World, was one of my favorite series on exhibit. The prints were simply gorgeous to look at. It was a pity that they were taken out of context somewhat, as the series is strongest when presented as a whole.

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TOP TO BOTTOM, from (”The Voyage to the Ends of the World“)
© Jovian Lim, 2009

From his statement:

This body of photographic work relies on the ‘heroic journey’ often seen in mythology. While the ‘heroic journey’ is deemed an ancient idea, the process of growth, change and self discovery still continues to present day.

The constructs of the landscape and topography are not of a natural environment; These abstractions however serve to draw the viewer into a timeless time, free from the clutter and distraction of our overcrowded world.

Although this voyage isn’t a literal one, they seek to mirror an inner reality as we pass through life.

For more, check out the project’s website. His personal portfolio can be found here.

Posted in Contemporary, Singapore | 3 Comments

Angkor Photography Workshop 09

The Angkor Photography Festival is back for its 5th year from Nov 22 – Nov 28 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Details of the festival will be up on their website soon but applications for the workshop are now open till August. However, you need to be below 28 (born after Oct 1980), work as a freelance/staff photographer, or enrolled in a photography course in Asia. More details can be found here. Maybe I should finally get myself there this time round!

Edited (15 Jun 09): Apparently there won’t be the festival this year but only the workshops. A pity, really!

Posted in Cambodia, Events, Exhibitions | 3 Comments

Party of Tomorrow

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The pioneer batch of graduates from NTU’s School of Art, Design and Media will be showing their work at 2902 Gallery from Jun 12 to Jun 21 at 2902 Gallery. I will be there to support my friends, look out for the person hogging the drinks admiring the prints. I can’t wait!

More information on the official website.

Posted in Exhibitions, Singapore | Leave a comment

House Keeping

Since that I am cleaning up the blog, I have made some changes to the blogroll. I removed some blogs that have died over the years, a sad pity. But blogging really does take up a significant amount of time and energy. Other things in life do have a knack of creeping up at you. (You don’t really get any concrete returns on your investment, save for bragging rights and the occasional email/comment.)

Nevertheless, I have added Photographers Speak to the blogroll. There are some interesting interviews to be read on the blog. Also, Dennis was my host in the Philippines and he runs a personal photography blog, as well as a blog on the photographic scene in his country. I also met up with Estan over drinks and he has been busy running four (five? six? I lost count.) projects at the same time. Colin Pantall’s critical (and sometimes humorous) blog also makes an appearance. I have been reading Feature Shoot regularly, they have a really cool showcase of photographers there. I have also added Ilovethatphoto.net to the blogroll.

As a matter of fact, I subscribe to close to 60 RSS feeds for photography blogs alone. I think that I may be suffering from some form of compulsive disorder.

Posted in Blog | 6 Comments

Shigeyoshi Ohi

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TOP TO BOTTOM, from (”Dark Lake Series“)
© Shigeyoshi Ohi, 2003

Shigeyoshi Ohi describes the experience of standing at the edges of these lakes as an agitating process. Beneath the serene surfaces lie one of mother nature’s greatest force of destruction. Volcano craters fill up rapidly with water when the volcanoes become dormant, resulting in awe-inspiring landscapes. Once harbingers of death, these volcanoes become givers of life, nourishing the surroundings with rich deposits of minerals. However, time and space seem to merge into the dark void, of which Ohi translated into a beautiful body of work.

More of the series can be seen on his portfolio.

Posted in Art, Japan | 3 Comments

WordPress Upgrade

Alright, I think I have managed to safely upgrade the blog to WordPress version 2.7. I’ll be tinkering with the blog over the next few days to improve the user experience (time to get used to a new look!). Things have been getting pretty old around here and change is always good!

Firstly, you would notice that the blog looks different now. I’ve changed over to Thematic, a theme framework for WordPress and will spruce things up over time. I’m also keen on exploring the new features, such as threaded comments et cetera. Call me crazy but I’m also contemplating of arranging all posts into proper categories and tags. Anyone has any idea how I can do this effectively? I will probably also create a larger social media presence in the coming weeks and I’m working on new posts for the blog.

Stay tuned for more updates!

PS: Do let me know if anything is broken. Thanks!

(and yes, I’m extremely free now. I’m still looking for full-time employment and only have a few shoots lined up in the coming weeks)

Posted in Blog | 4 Comments

Chino Otsuka

Successful self-portraits that do not merely depict a pictorial representation of the artist are few and far apart. Chino Otsuka’s autobiographical series takes place in an abandoned flat in a Tokyo housing estate. The images evoke a sense of displacement, the diptychs further accentuate the emptiness between photographer and environment.

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TOP TO BOTTOM, from (”Tokyo 4-3-4-506 “)
© Chino Otsuka

Chino’s other series, Imagine Finding Me, reveals the aching need for some to revisit the past and perhaps whisper something into our younger selves.

Read more about Chino here. Her portfolio can be viewed here.

Posted in Art, Japan | 1 Comment
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