Photography
Photography was one of my first loves and has always been an important way of me seeing, exploring and interacting with the world.
Everything Must Go
The Future Forward Party (FFP) gained significant momentum, energizing young voters in the lead-up to the 2019 general election. Frustrated with the military and monarchy-aligned power structures, their strong performance in the first election since the 2014 coup sent shockwaves through the country’s traditional ruling class. It wasn’t long before the party was dissolved by Thailand’s highest court, a move that sparked an explosion of youth-led protests demanding systemic change. The pandemic at first seemed to quell, but eventually helped fuel, the protests. It was only sustained government ‘lawfare’ that managed to evental stop the movement… at least for now.
Everything Must Go # 2
During COVID-19, Thailand's economy suffered its deepest contraction since the 1997 financial crisis. Typically, the country welcomes around 40 million tourists annually, but this plummeted to just 7 million in 2020 and nearly zero in 2021. I used to find empty billboards oddly comforting, a quiet pause for mind in our hyper-consumptive world. But during the pandemic, those vacant billboards became a stark physical manifestation of the virus working its way through the Thai economy.
Transition to Nowhere
After decades of military rule, Myanmar’s gradual opening to the world was once hailed as a rare international success story. Since 1962, the country had been under military control, but Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as an enduring symbol of hope, leading the push for democracy from years of house arrest. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), became a beacon for democratic aspirations, earning Suu Kyi the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2008, the military initiated tentative steps toward democratic reform by introducing a new constitution and setting an election timetable.
After decades of isolation the political reforms saw huge sums of money pour into Myanmar’s economy, the opening Junction Square’s shopping mall seemed to represent these changes and the country's embrace of global consumer culture. Kamayut Township, 2012.
With the opening up of the country, mobile phones have became more accessible, along wiht internet access. Aung San Suu Kyi leader of the NLD adresses a rally ousided Yangon. 2012.
Internally displaced people (IDPs) camp next to the border with Thailand. By the end of 2022 1.5 million people had been displaced by the conflict and violence with doubling as the fighting continued to intensify across much of the country.
After decades of isolation the political reforms saw huge sums of money pour into Myanmar’s economy, the opening Junction Square’s shopping mall seemed to represent these changes and the country's embrace of global consumer culture. Kamayut Township, 2012.
A Burmese migrant worker set fire to fields outside Mae Sot during the burning season.
Lightning flashes over the Karen hills where a 6 km length highway connects Mae Sot to a bridge over the Burmese town Myawaddy. For years people fleeing conflict and dictatorship in Burma headed to Mae Sot.
Friends play a game of Sepak takraw or foot volleyball as darkness falls
A Burmese migrant worker set fire to fields outside Mae Sot during the burning season.
Borderland
My long term personal project to document Myanmar's borderlands. It represents my ongoing attempt to document life along the Thai-Burma border. Started in 2011 as a personal project it seeks to weave the well-known aspects of life along the border, the refugee camps and conflict, into a wider tapestry of context.
A country's
beating heart
The Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia's largest freshwater lake, is currently facing a crisis as fish stocks continue to dwindle. This has forced villagers who have lived in traditional floating houses to consider leaving their tradional ways of life.
Dragon Race
Cambodia's three-day water festival sees over a million visitors flock to the capital. The highlight of the festival is the dragon boat races held in front of the Royal Palace
Singles
Random Photos
By the time the rubbish reaches the dump outside Mae Sot it has often been picked through 4 or 5 times along the way
People hire carts and sift through rubbish bins to sell to the recycle canter. For woman looking after small children it’s a way of generating income without being separated from them
A community of around 80 families live on the rubbish dump site
By the time the rubbish reaches the dump outside Mae Sot it has often been picked through 4 or 5 times along the way
A Load of Rubbish
As Asia continues to boom and millions of people join consumer society, waste, quite literally, becomes an ever-increasing problem.
Thai Elephant Day
A Karen village celebrities Thai Elephant Day in Tak province, Thailand.
