Toot Yung Gallery Looking Good!

I had a relapse today and spent most of the night coughing and in the bathroom but things are slowly improving again. I need to take things day by day (running out of days) but still have 38 sheets of 4x5 I would like to shoot before leaving Bangkok. Today I decided to take it easy, I slept in had a very small simple breakfast then went down to see the renovations on the Toot Yung Gallery, scheduled to open in June/July of 2013. The space is going to be wonderful, it will be a first class gallery that will be showing challenging work, is a real gift to the art scene in Bangkok.

I made a number of videos and pictures in the space which was filled with workers today rushing to make the deadline for the gallery opening, I will post the photos later in Canada  when I can re size them. The gallery includes a very long wall that is lit with both artificial and daylight and a shorter well lit wall opposite, in the back outside there is a wonderfully large beautiful tree along with a patio and bar. On the 3rd floor of the gallery is a large artist residence (the floor I would be living on when the show happens).

To be connected by this gallery is very exciting, to have the work shown there and to work with a artistic director/curator like Mimi should be even more exciting. I hope this first show will lead to other shows. I want my work to evolve and develop, people like Mimi can help me see in new ways, she can help me with my creativity and vision, exciting times!

Ain't Photography Grand!

Prostitution Revisted?

I keep wanting to shoot other stories but get called back into the world of prostitution. Over the last few days 2 possible stories have presented themselves.

1) Gay farang sex tourist men with their Thai boyfriends, a portrait series (suggested to me by the Toot Yung gallery). Showing the differences in age, body condition etc.

2) Femaile African sex workers (Ethiopia etc.) who sell themselves cheaply to Arab and Indian men in an area of Bangkok (learned of their existence from a Thai taxi driver). I was thinking of maybe doing a series of close up head shot portraits of these working ladies.

I also saw something at my hotel 2 days ago that got me thinking of doing more prostitution photographs in
the future. The hotel I am staying at it near Patpong in central Bangkok, Patpong is the original gogo bar sex show area of Bangkok. One road in Patpong is entirely devoted to Japanese customers, all the bars are for Japanese customers only (supposedly in the eyes of Japanese men the girls are cleaner because they do not sleep with non Japanese men). In the hotel I am currently staying at their is a preponderance of Japanese males travelling together, I think they come for a holiday and also to go to the Japanese road in Patpong.. In the hotel lobby the other day I saw a 70+year old Japanese man with a very beautiful Thai girl of maybe 19 to 23 years old. She sat quietly and obediently beside him as he talked to his friend and ignored her, I wondered what she was thinking and feeling? It made me want to go into that world again to try to capture those emotions.

Almost Back To Normal

I always forget how debilitating illness can be, I had all kinds of plans for the last few days but when I got sick everything fell through all I wanted to do was lay in bed and try to sleep between runs to the washroom. This short illness reminded me how important it is to get my work done before I am to old and sick to accomplish it, age and illness is rapidly approaching, I need to work harder while I can.

I am reading a fascinating biography on Beethoven, the drive the man had was incredible, he put all other concerns secondary for much of his life to devote himself to his art.

Mr Vomit Returns

Well I got sick again, that's 2 trips in a row but this time was not as bad as last. There was limited vomiting this time around and after a day of rest I am mostly back to normal. I ate all kinds of foods in Mae Sot in cheaper restaurants, from food stalls, I ate food at the wedding in the dump, all with no problems. Then I came to Bangkok and ate at one of the nicest buffet's in the city and I get sick! Who knew the safer food was in a garbage dump filled with flies and dirt and not in the tallest building in Bangkok at one of its premiere restaurants.

The Life Of Doo-aye

When I left yesterday just before getting into my transport vehicle at the school two young children who I met on day 1 came to see me off. The young girl Doo-aye and her younger brother seemed a bit shy to come near the vehicle but I called them over game them 10 and 5 baht coins and said goodbye to them. I photographed Doo-aye my first day in the dump, she was scavenging for plastic off by herself. What does the future hold for her? Who will she marry? Will she marry at 15 like her sister? ( her sister is Mai from the wedding day, amazing day blog)

http://gerryyaum.blogspot.com/2013/05/amazing-day.html

When I did some portraits of Doo-aye with the 4x5 on the last day, she wore her work outfit, a pink hat, shirt, long pants, flip flops, big white bag for plastic and a iron hook tool for digging she happily posed for me, as her mother and family offered encouragement she went through 4 or 5 poses, laughing with a wonderful white tooth smile. This young girls face and spirit will haunt me, she would have so many possibilities in life if her family had money, she could be anybody, do anything, but without money, living as a illegal in Thailand what possible positive future can she have?

I can still see her sweet innocent smile with the thanaka makeup/suncream on her face (made from ab Burmese tree bark), Doo-aye likes to make a line of straight white thanaka cream from her forehead to the tip of her nose and big white circles on her cheeks.

Money Makes The Difference

Yesterday when I gave 50 ($1.62 CAD) baht to the one eyed man (Motemee 39 years old) at the dump he was so happy, it is probably 1/2 a days work for him maybe a full days work. Money makes the world go round, the only difference between the families living in the dump and the families I saw today at the all you can eat hotel breakfast was how much money they had. Both sets of parents loved their children and tried to take care of them as best they could  but one group was in a fancy Thai hotel the other was digging for food beside a dog in a garbage pile.

Givers And Takers

In Mae Sot I saw many farang people being givers, volunteers for various NGOs, people like Fred Stockwell who helps so many folks at the dump, there were farang a plenty that were giving back, helping others.

Here in Pattaya I see people laying around on the beach/pool, getting serviced in various ways by the local workers, whether its massages, being served in high end restaurants or a sexual service of some kind.

I guess everyone needs some time off but when I was eating my all you can eat breakfast this morning at the hotel I kept thinking of the people in the dump, "What were they eating?" Yesterday as I was making photos an old lady in one of the shacks offered me some food, she pointed to the rice she was eating and gestured to me, asking if I had eaten? People who have nothing offering food to a stranger, rather incredible.

Burnt Out

Gosh I feel so tired after 8 days in the dump making pictures and the bus rides here to Pattaya. The heat and carrying all the gear I carried wore me right down. When your in the dump shooting you are slimy with sweat, the flies, smell and the heat are overpowering, you have to communicate in foreign languages and make pictures in unknown (potentially dangerous situations) on top of that you have to try to be creative and make strong photographs. Even with all the difficulties I am glad I did it, I cannot get the people I met there out of my mind but gosh it was hard. I need to get into better shape the next time around , maybe I need to get me a HAT!

Once Again The Quiet Meal

My first day back in Pattaya and I am seeing plenty of the quiet meal syndrome. I have written about it before but every time I come here it hits on me on the head. The farang man with money (older or younger) comes and rents (the only word for it) a girl from a bar and the next day after a night of bedroom activity they have nothing to say to each other the next day during their meal together. He buys her one night and buys another woman the next night followed by another quiet meal.

There was one girl I saw later in Central shopping center, she was young and attractive, dressed very nicely. The girl was with a old man farang (Western white person) who had his hands all over her, when she turned towards me I could see the embarrassment on her face (Thais do not typically show affection in public), she must have been new to the bar world.

Overheard On The Computer Next To Me

A Thai lady is doing internet video chat next to me and I can hear the falling.

"Do you miss meeee?"

"No darling I never lie to you, I cannot lie to you."

"I enjoy to see you. I be happy"
"Do you miss me tee-rauk (darling)? I miss you."
"Not forget to send money from the bank in German to the bank in Thailand"
"Bangkok bank charge 5% how much you send now?"
"Ok darling, have rain everyday here now, I horny for you to, you have a good time a nice time and good day, kiss kiss, bye bye."

Wonder what she would think if she knew I was next door taking notes? Probably smack me upside the head!