Noorderlicht / Photofestival / Another Asia / Another Asia I

Another Asia I

Through Asian Eyes

main exhibition / 10 sep 29 oct 2006

From the inside, 23 photographers from 10 countries sketch a nuanced picture of a world on the border between tradition and change - with many premieres!

Photofestival 2006

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Another Asia

Shahidul Alam

NATURE'S FURY

On October 8, 2005, Kashmir was struck by a severe earthquake. The epicenter lay in the Pakistani sector. Cities were wiped from the face of the earth, mountainsides turned into avalanches of mud and rock. Nearly a hundred thousand people died, and four million were otherwise affected by the disaster. Shahidul Alam visited the Pakistani disaster area two months after the quake. People were still clearing away the ruins and seeking the bodies of victims. At the same time, houses were being rebuilt and the first improvised shops were reopening. 'Nature had shown its fury,' says the photographer. 'Now people were fighting back.'
NATURE'S FURY
NATURE'S FURY
NATURE'S FURY
NATURE'S FURY

Pablo Bartholomew

EARLY WORK (1975-1982)

When he was fifteen Pablo Bartholomew, the son of intellectual immigrants from Pakistan and Burma, was expelled from school. His independent spirit drove him to the seamy side of New Delhi, which he recorded with a photo camera. At the age of 19 he won a prize at World Press Photo with a series on drug addiction. Attracted by the big city, in the early 1980s he moved to Mumbai. Although he earned his living on Bollywood film sets, he documented the city's street life in his free time. His blistering photographs in EARLY WORK (1975-1982) of eunuchs, pickpockets, opium addicts and prostitutes proved to be pioneering. Never before had India's raw street life been pictured so systematically. Since then such photo reportage has become commonplace in India.
EARLY WORK (1975-1982)
EARLY WORK (1975-1982)
EARLY WORK (1975-1982)
EARLY WORK (1975-1982)

Achinto Bhadra

MASKED PORTRAITS (2005)

The subjects of MASKED PORTRAITS (2005) are young Indian women who have been rescued from human trafficking. With the aid of clothing, poses and objects they represent their life in the past, that was permeated with deception, abuse and violence. In order to hide their identity, the women choose a character from the world of religion, mythology, folklore or television. For instance, we see elements of the housewife, Hindustani woman and Bollywood starlet, symbols for tradition, religion and beauty. At the same time, the masquerade represents the great change that the women have undergone with respect to their earlier lives.
MASKED PORTRAITS (2005)
MASKED PORTRAITS (2005)
MASKED PORTRAITS (2005)
MASKED PORTRAITS (2005)

Phuoc Bui Huu

DEPARTURE (2005)

'I hope to earn more money if I graduate. Then I can help my family escape poverty.' These words, from the Vietnamese student Toan, are the basis for DEPARTURE (2005). According to Phuoc Bui Huu, they characterize the situation in the Vietnamese countryside, where one of the children in a family studying is the only chance for a better life. Toan, 22 years old, is in his second year at the academy for economics in Ho Chi Minh City. He spends most of his free time in front of the television in his room. He has no money to go out for entertainment. Phuoc Bui Huu photographed Toan on the campus and with his family in the countryside. In his way he wants to let us see that Toan, like so many Vietnamese students, 'is on his way to an uncertain future, with almost empty hands'.
DEPARTURE (2005)
DEPARTURE (2005)
DEPARTURE (2005)
DEPARTURE (2005)

Zann Huizhen Huang

CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005)

Many homeless children in the Cambodian city of Siemreab, close to the famous temples of Angkor Wat, sniff glue. The resulting high is the CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005) way of briefly escaping from the pain and hunger that are inextricably bound up with their hard lives on the street. It is estimated that 40% of the children in Cambodia are addicted to sniffing glue. Especially the price makes it the most popular kind of drug. A hit of glue can be bought for as little as fifty cents. The children get the money they need by begging from tourists. Although sniffing glue is one of the largest problems in Cambodia today, the country still does not have any form of care for the addicts.
CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005)
CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005)
CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005)
CAMBODIAN GLUE KIDS (2005)

Yee I-Lann

SULU STORIES (2005)

In her youth, I-Lann Yee heard magical stories about the Sulu Sea, which lies between her native Malaysia and The Philippines. For instance, there is a dragon that lives along the coast, which likes to play with a pearl 'as large as a tennis ball'. Later she learned that the world's largest pearls were found in the Sulu Sea. I-Lann Yee began to dig further and stumbled across a selection of legends full of pirates, kidnappings, shipwrecks, opium and ghosts. She reworked elements from these stories into photographs that she made of the Sulu Sea, creating a visual archive which says much about the surrounding region. Because, as I-Lann Yee says, 'We do not feel Malaysian or Filipino. We feel Sulu.'
SULU STORIES (2005)
SULU STORIES (2005)
SULU STORIES (2005)
SULU STORIES (2005)

Paul Kadarisman

MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

With 200 million Muslims, Indonesia is the world's largest Islamic country. Its Muslims represent many strands, which differ strongly from one another. For example, after September 11 fundamentalism grew rapidly, but so did concerns about radical Islam. Curator Alex Supartono asked three young Indonesians to photograph the Islamic society in which they live. The commission was a consciousness-raising process. Not only were the photographers witness to a continuing politicization of Islam, they were also impressed by the enormous wealth of Islamic currents in their society. Furthermore, the emphasis on their personal experience reveals - and revealed - the everyday character of Islam - both to the viewer, and to the photographers themselves.

MOHAMMED AND ME is intended to grow into a worldwide project that will provide more insight into Islam and its effects. 'Mohammed is changing,' says Alex Supartono (b. 1972), 'and our world is quickly changing as a result.'
MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

Dinh Q Lê

FROM VIETNAM TO HOLLYWOOD (2003-2005)

Dinh Q Lê weaves photos like Vietnamese grass mats, a technique that he learned as a boy from his aunt. In FROM VIETNAM TO HOLLYWOOD (2003-2005) he mixes stills from Hollywood films with anonymous black and white photos made in Vietnam. The film images come from Apocalypse Now, Indochine (with Catherine Deneuve) and Hamburger Hill. The photographs were made during the war in Vietnam. Dinh Q Lê explains his work by saying, 'Hollywood and the US are constantly trying to rewrite our memories of the Vietnam War. I struggle to keep alive the memories of the Vietnamese themselves from this time.'
FROM VIETNAM TO HOLLYWOOD (2003-2005)
FROM VIETNAM TO HOLLYWOOD (2003-2005)

Remissa Mak

WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)

'When the water rises, the fish eats the ant; when the water recedes, the ant eats the fish' (2005). According to Remissa Mak, this Khmer proverb, as old as it is popular, sums up the situation in Cambodia well. Eighty percent of the population is farmer. Anyone plagued by drought has an enormous problem. The proverb is also true in a symbolic sense. The part of the population for whom the circumstances are the most favorable is dominant in Cambodia. Previously that translated into war and oppression; now they control the division of work, food, power and medical care.
WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)
WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)
WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)
WHEN THE WATER RISES... (2005)

Anay Mann

GENERATION IN TRANSITION (2000-2004)

As a result of economic reforms and increasing freedoms, India's cities are taking on a new shape. Traditional boundaries in the realm of religion, gender and identity are blurring, particularly among the fast-growing middle class. Anay Mann - himself from the middle class - recorded what these changes mean for young people in New Delhi and Mumbai, cities with populations equal to that of The Netherlands. There he found a generation that is searching for a new identity under confusing circumstances. For instance, their lifestyle is influenced just as much by Western media as it is by the traditionally focused Bollywood.
GENERATION IN TRANSITION (2000-2004)
GENERATION IN TRANSITION (2000-2004)
GENERATION IN TRANSITION (2000-2004)
GENERATION IN TRANSITION (2000-2004)

Palani Mohan

VANISHING GIANTS (2001-2006)

While the African elephant population is thriving, the Asian elephant is increasingly under pressure. The explosive growth in the human population, increasing land being claimed for agriculture and industry and the illegal felling of forests are robbing the Asian elephant of its original territory. In the whole of South and Southeast Asia there are only about 40,000 animals still surviving. Previously Thailand alone had over 100,000. Everywhere the elephant collides with man. His trails are blocked and he is taken captive to serve as a working animal or tourist attraction. In Myanmar elephants are killed for their tusks, in Cambodia they regularly step on landmines. Their situation is in shrill contrast to their status in South and Southeast Asia. The elephant can be found everywhere as an Asian logo: in woven carpets, on temple walls and as the figurehead for businesses.
VANISHING GIANTS (2001-2006)
VANISHING GIANTS (2001-2006)
VANISHING GIANTS (2001-2006)
VANISHING GIANTS (2001-2006)

Pushpamala N

THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004)

In the colonial era many traditionally clad women from South India posed in the zenanas, photographic studios run by British women. Following the same tradition, Pushpamala N. had herself photographed by the British woman photographer Claire Arni. She based her poses on classic images from Indian film, photography and painting. Measuring instruments refer to the way in which the British colonialists photographed native women for ethnographic research. In this way the series plays with the notion of persons as museum objects. But more than anything else, THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004, from: Native Women of South India, Manners and Customs) is a commentary on the use of photography as an instrument for creating and confirming stereotypes. Pushpamala N. suggests that both the British and the Indians are guilty of this. The former were obsessed with classifying, the latter with forming a national identity.
THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004)
THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004)
THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004)
THE ETNOGRAPHIC SERIES (2000-2004)

Bui The Trung Nam

IN THE SOUTH OF CHOLON

Ho Chi Minh City, with its six million residents the largest city in Vietnam, is burdened with history. Under its original name of Saigon, it came under French colonial administration in 1859. After the French were expelled, in 1950 Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. In 1975 the North Vietnamese Army put an end to this, and its name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City, after the former Communist leader, though many residents still call the city Saigon. Bui The Trung Nam photographed Ho Chi Minh City in taut, symmetrical images. In that way he emphasizes the dissociation which manifests itself in the chaos in the city, which he sees as a consequence of the spreading conflict between its present and past.
IN THE SOUTH OF CHOLON
IN THE SOUTH OF CHOLON
IN THE SOUTH OF CHOLON
IN THE SOUTH OF CHOLON

Wawi Navarroza

POLYSACCHARIDE (2000)

POLYSACCHARIDE (2000) visualizes the inner conflict of a girl growing into adulthood in The Philippines. On the one side, the dollhouse stands for the rules and expectations of the family in which she is growing up. Both impeded the girl in her growth - the dollhouse literally. On the other side, it represents her fantasy world. Here the girl can flee the adult life, and her future has not yet been filled in. The series is a critical reflection on the way girls are raised in The Philippines. They are perhaps well cared for, suggests Wawi Navarroza, but they are not cherished as individuals.
POLYSACCHARIDE (2000)
POLYSACCHARIDE (2000)
POLYSACCHARIDE (2000)
POLYSACCHARIDE (2000)

Swan Ti Ng

CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005)

Although from a Confucian family, as a child Swan Ti Ng ended up in a Catholic school, after which baptism followed. Once an adult, Swan Ti Ng realized that her faith went no further than the obligatory church attendance. To investigate her religious identity, she decided to photograph CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005). Officially the country recognizes five religions (Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam), and one's affiliation is noted in one's passport. But in practice, Swan It Ng discovered, the country exhibits a mishmash of traditions and beliefs. An adherent of one faith has no problem about using rituals from another.
CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005)
CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005)
CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005)
CATHOLICISM IN INDONESIA (2000-2005)

Sudharak Olwe

IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE (2001)

Mumbai has about 30,000 people on its payroll who sweep the streets, pick up garbage and clean the sewers. Without exception they belong to the Dalits (literally, the 'downtrodden'), the lowest rung on the caste ladder. According to Indian standards they are reasonably paid, but through their position they struggle with poverty, abuse, despair and alcoholism. Sudharak Olwe photographed the lives of the cleaners of Mumbai, who have no prospect of a better life. With his photographs he hopes to move the authorities to improve their working conditions. He also appeals to the inhabitants of Mumbai to show appreciation for the heavy work that the Dalits perform daily to keep their city clean and livable.
IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE (2001)
IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE (2001)
IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE (2001)
IN SEARCH OF DIGNITY AND JUSTICE (2001)

Sherman Ong

MONSOON (2005)

The word 'monsoon' comes from the Arab mausim, which stands for seasons and the prevailing wind directions connected with them. The monsoon determines the agenda for most of Southeast Asia, particularly in the agricultural and tourist sectors. The sudden, heavy rains make the region one of the most fertile in the world. At the same time, the absence of modern infrastructure means they lead to flooding and impede the mobility of those living in the region. Sherman Ong photographed MONSOON (2005) from a moving automobile. He left the window closed. The result is a poetic impression of the season that radically affects both the psyche and the landscape of Southeast Asia.
MONSOON (2005)
MONSOON (2005)
MONSOON (2005)
MONSOON (2005)

Kaeowkao Pongpaiboon

STILL ALIVE (2003)

In the early 1990s Thailand built the Pak Mool Dam for generating electricity. The consequences for the fish stock were disastrous. Villages along the Mool River, dependent on fishing, rose up. After five years of futile protest, the villagers set up a tent camp near the main government buildings in Bangkok. It was the largest protest action in Thai history. Kaeowkao Pongpaiboon visited the camp, to his surprise a real village with cafes, restaurants and a hairdresser. He realized that it was a tragic copy of its residents' original environment. By now, the protest has ended. As a grudging compromise, the dam is opened for four months a year to permit the fish through.
STILL ALIVE (2003)
STILL ALIVE (2003)
STILL ALIVE (2003)
STILL ALIVE (2003)

Wahyudi Rahardjo

SKY WORKER (2005)

It will be forty-three stories high, the newest skyscraper in Jakarta. The hardhats work at a height of 150 meters, where they have to deal with strong winds and blazing sun. This flagship of the new Jakarta is being built primarily by young men from the provinces. They are drawn to the capital city to earn money for their families. From this height SKY WORKER (2005) shows them looking down every day on the hectic city; they have to keep up with its pace. Safety instructions often go by the board. Even safety belts are frequently enough ignored. Although no one has died in the construction of this skyscraper yet, several workers fell to their death during the construction of the previous one.
SKY WORKER (2005)
SKY WORKER (2005)
SKY WORKER (2005)
SKY WORKER (2005)

Vandy Rattana

SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006)

Vandy Rattana makes - as he himself puts it - non-traditional SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006). Although he does not appear in any of the photographs himself, he does provide a true-to-life image of his immediate environment. For instance, we see his mother and brother at his home, his girlfriend and neighbors in their homes, his colleagues in the office. The result is an authentic visual archive that provides a counterbalance to the clichéd image of Cambodia as the land of monks, temples and beggars. Moreover, much of the national archives were lost in the war. Visual material about previous generations is hardly available. That makes the recording of history something of the greatest importance, Vandy Rattana suggests. Certainly because Cambodia, despite all the rapid changes, still shows little interest in documenting its own society.
SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2005-2006)

Mohammed Revaldi

MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

With 200 million Muslims, Indonesia is the world's largest Islamic country. Its Muslims represent many strands, which differ strongly from one another. For example, after September 11 fundamentalism grew rapidly, but so did concerns about radical Islam. Curator Alex Supartono asked three young Indonesians to photograph the Islamic society in which they live. The commission was a consciousness-raising process. Not only were the photographers witness to a continuing politicization of Islam, they were also impressed by the enormous wealth of Islamic currents in their society. Furthermore, the emphasis on their personal experience reveals - and revealed - the everyday character of Islam - both to the viewer, and to the photographers themselves.

MOHAMMED AND ME is intended to grow into a worldwide project that will provide more insight into Islam and its effects. 'Mohammed is changing,' says Alex Supartono (b. 1972), 'and our world is quickly changing as a result.'
MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

Arief Kamaludin Rhaman

MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

With 200 million Muslims, Indonesia is the world's largest Islamic country. Its Muslims represent many strands, which differ strongly from one another. For example, after September 11 fundamentalism grew rapidly, but so did concerns about radical Islam. Curator Alex Supartono asked three young Indonesians to photograph the Islamic society in which they live. The commission was a consciousness-raising process. Not only were the photographers witness to a continuing politicization of Islam, they were also impressed by the enormous wealth of Islamic currents in their society. Furthermore, the emphasis on their personal experience reveals - and revealed - the everyday character of Islam - both to the viewer, and to the photographers themselves.

MOHAMMED AND ME is intended to grow into a worldwide project that will provide more insight into Islam and its effects. 'Mohammed is changing,' says Alex Supartono (b. 1972), 'and our world is quickly changing as a result.'
MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

Michael Shaowanasai

SELF-PORTRAITS (2004-2005)

The Thai artist Michael Shaowanasai plays with preconceptions and role patterns in Asian culture - preferably in provocative ways. In doing so, he avoids the idealistic stereotypes, such as the handsome, subservient youth, in favor of the more banal variants. For instance, he presents himself as wife, ideological militant, war victim, sex partner and cover girl. These are roles that women in Asia are frequently assigned, but which also apply universally, according to Shaowanasai. By presenting himself as a woman the flamboyant homosexual artist also stands the traditional division of roles on its head in this work from 2004-2005.
SELF-PORTRAITS (2004-2005)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2004-2005)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2004-2005)
SELF-PORTRAITS (2004-2005)

Vannaphone Sitthirath

GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004)

In the Mekong basin, Thailand is the land of unlimited opportunity. The number of immigrants is enormous. Every day about 10,000 Cambodians cross the border with goods to sell legally - or with contraband. Many children are also traded along the border, who will end up in Bangkok as prostitutes, beggars or street vendors. Vannaphone Sitthirath produced the photo essay GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004) on the children on the Thai border with Laos and Cambodia. They come from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, and are almost all victims of exploitation, drug addition and abuse. Some sell their blood to stay alive. Others dream of becoming a teacher or doctor, but only a handful will escape their poverty.
GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004)
GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004)
GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004)
GROWING UP IN THE MEKONG (2004)

Farhana Syeda

DHAKA, A CITY OF MANY LAYERS (2004-2005)

'I had a love-hate relationship with Dhaka,' says Farhana Syeda about the capital of Bangladesh. 'But it was there that I learned everything I needed to know.' She lived there from 1989 to 2002, and returned in 2005. Suddenly she saw all sorts of new things, but literally and figuratively. For instance, the number of high-rise buildings had increased dramatically, just as had the number of slums. They were a lot less birds: to a great extent nature had been routed by advertising billboards. On the other hand, the flood of new residents had swollen. All were seeking something - work, studies, love - just as Farhana Syeda had in 1989. Her astonishment about Dhaka remains, she says. Every street corner still offers a new story. 'My quest to understand the city goes on.'
DHAKA, A CITY OF MANY LAYERS (2004-2005)
DHAKA, A CITY OF MANY LAYERS (2004-2005)
DHAKA, A CITY OF MANY LAYERS (2004-2005)
DHAKA, A CITY OF MANY LAYERS (2004-2005)