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.

Damgaard on the series:

I wanted to make some figure studies of the young urban class in this city, people in between actions – the pause in the everyday where we have a change to reflect on our lifes. I liked the idea of describing this personal space and time that people can have during a short absence and set this in contrast to the dynamic Asian metropolis that is in a state of constant flux and growth. 

To me, the images were about the pervasive isolation, fear and hopelessness surrounding us; unable to move as fast as the cities that we live in.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Figures and Cityscapes“)
© Thomas Damgaard, 2008

After spending the past week struggling with school and having the entire financial crisis unfold before my eyes, the series spoke to me of our lives’ craziness.

See more of the series here. Damgaard is also part of an art collaborative, New Weather Group, which had their first exhibition last year in New York’s MoMa.

TOP TO BOTTOM, © Ohm Phanphiroj

Ohm Phanphiroj is a well-regarded art and fashion photographer from Thailand. His portraits are highly charged with intimacy and tension. I visited Whitespace Gallery where his Identity Crisis: Transsexual Series was on show. It featured triptychs of transsexuals and a short note on when they underwent their transformation. I found the images something to behold. The before and after effect was rather interesting.

Visit his website to see more of his personal work. [NSFW]

TOP TO BOTTOM, (from “Life is Beautiful“)
© Manit Sriwanichpoom, 2008

One of the first galleries I visited was Kathmandu Photo Gallery, owned by renowned Thai photo-artist, Manit Sriwanichpoom. The gallery was charming in its own right, almost the anti-gallery with its bright green walls and cramped surroundings.

On show now is a series of portraits by Manit. dealing with the stigmatism of living with HIV in Thai society. Thai society views AIDS/HIV negatively and large efforts has been in place to educate the general public. With their clear gaze and innocent smiles, these fourteen children represent thousands upon thousands of other guiltless victims just like them scattered across Thailand.

More on the show here.

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).

See Me
© Kanok Suriyasat

Untitled, BKK, Thailand
© Kanok Suriyasat

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

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.

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

More images can be viewed here and here.

[all images © Anak Navaraj]

I find myself strangely attracted to effective diptychs recently. There is something about the extra meanings carefully weaved into the chosen images. I find myself guessing the photographer’s intention when choosing a particular pair of images, often creating my own interpretations. I have not formally tried creating my own diptychs and perhaps I will look through my archives soon. Maybe I will discover new images from my otherwise bland-looking singles.

Check out Julian Thomas’ Three Part Inventions where he builds up a narrative from the places in his photos.

Edit: It has been confirmed that Anak is in fact a Thai, currently based in NYC. He shoots travel and documentary work, after graduating from Pratt Institute, with a MFA in Photography. He has recently done work for Thai Airways.

[all images © Yoonki Kim]

Barthes wrote about how people transformed themselves for a moment before their picture is taken, to create a posed image of them, to be remembered by camera. These images of happy smiling people then puzzled me, were they merely posing for the photographer or was the photographer choosing a particular moment to capture? I laughed out loud when I saw the image of the group of children and the fat man. In the image, I saw so much more, a kind of happiness for the present and the future, a slice of their life taken at a particular moment. I wish that I could be one of the children, smiling for eternity.

However, I was robbed of these feelings when the series drew to a close. Several dark images at the end jolted me out of my reverie. I was angry, disturbed and wondered why Yoonki chose to include these images into the series, and to end it…it all seemed wrong. I don’t know what his intention was but I hazard a guess that he wanted to show the other side of the slums, beyond the smiles that he had presented to the viewer. However, I wished that it wasn’t done in this manner, it appears to be almost cruel.

When selecting the images to post, I deliberately chose the smiling ones. Maybe I’m being slightly disrespectful for not presenting a good overview of the series. Somehow, I wanted to present the brief moments of happiness that coursed through me when I first saw the images.

Tell me how you feel after seeing the entire series here.

p.s. Almost done with the projects in school but I would still be busy in the coming week, I have a few jobs to clear before the exams start. However, I should be posting more regularly from now on. Continue sending me links!

I believe in creative empowerment. It would help the less fortunate express themselves and gain the ability to transcend their current situation. I think that such projects are worthy causes and they need your support!

© Manit Sriwanichpoom

© Manit Sriwanichpoom

© Manit Sriwanichpoom

Pink Man is my upset and alienated feeling towards the concept of consumerism which has been accepted simply and without consideration by Thai society. I feel that this system has enslaved us without our realization.

The Pink Man wears a fluoroscent pink suit wandering in Thailand, Europe and even historical photos. He pushes an empty (pink) shopping cart that makes him stand out from his surroundings. The insertion of the Pink Man in historical photos may appear to be tasteless but Manit wanted to raise questions to the Thais: were deaths of those students in the name of democracy worth it? This is even more prevalent in the wake of the military coup in Thailand.

© Manit Sriwanichpoom

© Manit Sriwanichpoom

Once, empires were carved out by armies. The same old people still colonise the world today, but now they call themselves global investors. As the ancients said, “When the lake dries up, the truth emerges.” It is only now that the bubble has burst and our currencies have collapsed, that we can see how the market system works to enrich and protect the old, existing colonial masters, at our expense.

In an older series, This Bloodless War, Manit recreated historical photos from the Vietnam War and the Japanese invasion of China. The images speak about the blind consumerism that has ravaged the Thais. Made after the 1997 Asia financial crisis, Manit wanted to show the chaos that was spreading through Thailand at that time.

There’s an interview with Manit here (albeit politically charge, in my opinion). The page also contains interviews with James Nachtwey, Steve McCurry and other cool stuff.

Read more about Manit here, here, here and here.