TOP, from (“Billboards“)
© Lim Thian Leong, 2010

Angsana: Southeast Asian Photographers Taking Flight is an exhibition that brings together the works of notable contemporary photographers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Taking the name of a tree species that is common in Southeast Asia, the exhibition is a showcase of highly sophisticated images captured with well-honed skills and expertise. Put together, the works provide a glorious insight to the burgeoning standards of photography craftsmanship and the blossoming photography industry in Southeast Asia. By intertwining different artistic talents of the region, it is also a platform of cultural exchange and understanding. [press release]

Couldn’t make my way down due to a flare-up of my sciatica pain but since it’s open from Jan 12 to Feb 16 at 2902 Gallery, I might still have time to visit! It is also a fringe event of Art Stage Singapore (someone called it art on steroids).

Held in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, the International Orange Photo Festival took place from Oct 22 to 29. This event aims to grow into an influential creative cultural projects, and also to promote the city of Changsha. The exhibitions included international names from the region and beyond, alongside works by Chinese photographers. Visit the official website to find out more about the festival. Photographer/writer Zhuang Wubin reported from festival, he also curated one of the exhibitions for South East Asian photography.

(While I try to lead my double life, I would love it if future festival organizers would send me invites for all-expense-paid trips. :D)

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“soliloquy“)© Terence Teo, 2010

Documentary photographer and long-term drinks buddy, Terence Teo, is finally having his first solo exhibition at Objectifs from Oct 29 to Nov 18. soliloquy is his conversation with nature, the result of a journey through Japan in 2010. After years of documenting disasters throughout Asia, Terence sought a quieter side of nature, to contemplate, to discover and ultimately, to answer many unanswerable questions in life.

I think that his images and travelogue made something tingle within – a need to embark on my own journey one day; when I have had enough of this life. And after that, I shall begin the next phase. Till then, I rattle my chains and smile grimly.

Visit his tumblr site for some images from the exhibition (and other amazing images from the trip) and his portfolio to throw some jobs his way. (Mention my name so I can get a few rounds.)

A number of familiar names will be showing at the festival and a lot more unfamiliar ones. I will probably scour through the list and dig up the photographers’ works. What’s noteworthy is the slideshows to be shown throughout the city – one on the Bangkok unrest earlier this year and the devastation that ripped through Haiti.

A pity I won’t be attending (I used to lack the funds, now I lack the time.) but do make your travel arrangements early. I heard that accommodation would be close to impossible to find during that period.

Visit the website and the latest newsletter for more information.

The inaugural exhibition – Technicolor Japan, places Japanese photography from the late Edo period alongside contemporary artwork from artists from various practices.

Location: 20 Cairnhill Road S(229652)
Website: www.vueprivee.comm

Talk about East meeting West. Sanatorium, a gallery in Turkey, is showing an exhibition on Chinese contemporary photographers, Passing China, from March 25 to April 24. This is in collaboration with Eli Klein Gallery from New York. A look at the list of artists reveal some well-travelled photographers from China – Chen Qiang, Lian Dongya, Li Wei, Liu Bolin, Maleonn, Miao Xiaochun, Pan Yue, Wang Yiqiong, Zuoxiao Zuzhou.

I think that the cross-border showing of photography, especially outside the main art centers can be quite a good primer for a region’s works. I have lost count of the number of people asking me for advice on photography coming from Asia (despite this blog’s moniker, I’m not really an expert). However, the interesting bit comes in when, after viewing the more well-known works, one finds the few gems in the rough. It can be an exhilarating experience.

Visit the gallery’s official website to read more. C-Arts Magazine has a review of the exhibition held in New York here.

Of Forest, Sea and Mountain’ is a collection of images depicting the deconstruction of conventional landscape by three talented photographers Dju-lian Chng, Jovian Lim and Ang Song Nian , which will be exhibited at 2902 Gallery from Nov 25 to Dec 16.

Evoking a sense of an unusual mix of romanticism and avant-garde, it is the personal self-interpretation of landscapes and a reflection of the emerging state-of-the-art innovations of photography. This exhibition will challenge the very archetypal notions of landscape and introduce a fresh visual introspective of their personal constructed landscapes deliberately imbibed with intended meanings about life, technology and space.

Having been acquainted with the photographers’ works, I do believe that we are heralding a new frontier in the local photography scene. One would never imagine images like this being exhibited ten years ago but look at how things have changed since then.

Dju-lian and Jovian works as a team and their online portfolio can be seen here. Unfortunately, Song Nian’s website is still in progress (well, the last I spoke to him). I can’t wait to see the prints!

© Chen Chunlin

Eight Chinese photographers are having an exhibition from Nov 19 to Dec 31 at the interesting-looking Redstar 35 building in Chengdu. The participating photographers are: Adou, Chen Chunlin, Feng Li, Li Jun, Luo Dan, Liu Ke, Muge and Yang Yi. The group’s images focus on a slice of life in modern day China, often with a penchant for the more mysterious aspects.

Click here to see more images.

My friend, Luke, in conjunction with H Gallery, is having an exhibition at the EAT ME Art Restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand. He has been based there for the last couple of years (learning lots of languages, teaching yoga and creating art!) and was a wonderful host when I visited last year.

This series of work was shot in 2008, when Luke returned home to San Francisco after Obama won the elections. He had planned to capture the signs of the Bush administration but decided to focus his sight on the change – in the form of renewed hope and pride, that was creeping into the country.

For more, please visit his website.

Rinko Kawauchi would be having an exhibition at Mountain Fold Gallery in New York for an entire month. The show, “Condensation”, is a collection of new and old works from the Japanese photographer. I’ve always been a fan of Kawauchi and would love to be there. An interesting aspect of the show would be to see how Kawauchi’s normally thematic images work together out of context and placed side by side. Her work possesses a melancholic peacefulness, soft and ethereal but always etched in reality. Do drop by if you’re in NYC.

Exhibition details:
Oct 19 – Nov 28
Mountain Fold Gallery
55 Fifth Avenue 18th Floor
New York, NY, 10003