On the streets where they live

On weekdays, Noppadol Weerakitti, the Thailand Creative and Design Centre’s director for information technology and facilities, can be found helping with the conversion of space in Bangkok’s Central Post Office in Bang Rak – the hub for digital and creative developments and soon to be become the TCDC’s new office.

Weekends, however, he rarely looks at his computers but instead takes to the streets to capture unique shots of the urban sprawl.

A long-time photography enthusiast, he founded the lively photo website Bangkok Street Photography in 2008 with professional lensmen Dow Wasiksiri and Manit Sriwanichpoom and a group of amateur shutterbugs.

Now more than 100 street photos by a dozen of the website’s members – though not Dao and Manit – are on display in the “Subconscious” exhibition at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Running from today through September 30, the show is part of the Bangkok Photo Festival 2015, which aims to promote the art of photography in Asia. 

“While some urbanites are well accustomed to the scenes of daily happenings on streets and sidewalks, there’s a group of photographers that has been observing and waiting for the right moment to capture those moments and make them into an extraordinary photographic art piece. These images, along with their hidden nuances that reflect our society, its humour, satire as well as perfectly-timed coincidences, are created by the street photographer,” Noppadol notes on his website.

He describes Bangkok Street Photography as “a community for those passionate about street photography and the art of seeing.”

Street photography became popular in Thailand a decade ago with the advent of digital cameras and smartphones, which made it easy for anyone to capture images.

“To me, a photograph is a moment frozen in time which turns the ordinary into something extraordinary. When I delve into the world of street life, I feel closer to understanding the meaning of existence,” Noppadol notes.

“Street photography is easily appreciated by the general public. The photos record the everyday lives of people in each community. Many snapshots reflect a reality we probably have never noticed before. Street photos are fascinating. They also show humour, irony and surprise,” festival director Piyatat Hemmatat tells XP.

Piyatat adds that he included street photography in the festival because he wanted to present various styles: main exhibitions with special themes, fashion photography, advertising photography and purely contemporary photography.

“In the past we called street photography ‘urban landscapes’ or ‘cityscapes’. Today the term ‘street photography’ is more specific to capturing the styles of the city. There are many more genres like portraits, experimental, landscape and cityscape,” says the 39-year-old photographer, who has been running the community building RMA Institute on Sukhumvit Soi 22 for five years.

“All genres are featured in ‘Subconscious’,” he adds.

Piyatat says each photo reflects the photographers’ subconscious, hence the name. For example Tipawan Gatesomboon’s lively shots depicting fair-goers enjoyed dancing at a Bangkok fair reflects the photographer’s happiness. In contrast, Sirima Chaipreechawit prefers to capture street scenes in black and white symbolising the city’s darkness and lonely moments.

Irony is the subject of the photo by Vinai Dithajohn, which depicts Red-shirt protesters taking a rest in front of huge billboard advertising fashion. While the red-shirt protesters wrap their heads with red banners and pha khao maa, the models wear fancy head-dresses that match their fashionable outfits.

Another street photographer displaying his works is young software programmer Akkara Naktamna, whose solo street photo show, “Sign”, is on show at Kathmandu Photography until the end of this month. He captures the weird and eerie moments he experiences while exploring the streets. His images include various plants that, gorging on the city’s pollution, burst into gigantic mutant creepers

Noppadol notes that street photography is created from a profound connection between the moment of pressing the shutter and the subconscious of each individual photographer.

“The subconscious is not developed simply by mastering the equipment and the ability to assess a subjected situation, but from accumulative learning through books, films, music and art, as well as the experience of travel. All these different factors are manifested to formulate each person’s underlying subconscious,” he says.

 

Below the surface

“Subconscious” runs through September 30 on the third, fourth and fifth floors of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BTS: National Stadium).

Find out more at www.StreetPhotoThailand.com or www.PhotoBangkokFestival.com.