Keeping me entertained today is Ohio-based photographer Stephen Tomasko's current project 'First Place and Our Congratulations'. 

"The start of this project, seen here, is the fruit of twenty days at sixteen midwest county fairs, examining the intense culture of competition surrounding the events."

This body of work will be part of the Proj'ekt LA series at MOPLA.

BDS and I share a bit of common history so in a nod to the music of our time, a portrait of the Jesus and Mary Chain. I wonder whether I still look just as sardonic, 25 years on.

All images © Brian David Stevens

JR shoots Liu Bolin © Zachary Bako

aCurator-featured artist Zachary Bako has been working with artist Liu Bolin in China for some time now. Recently they were in New York, with Bako documenting a collaboration between Bolin and French artist JR.

"Liu Bolin's passion for his artwork was clear from the start. The more I worked with Liu, the more interested I got in capturing his emotion, and that of those around him, as he works. When we collaborate, I find myself peeling the camera away from my face, almost like I need to take a minute now and then just to bear witness to the intensity of the atmosphere around me. In particular, when we were in his hometown of Binzhou in Shandong Province, China, last September creating two works."

 



"Liu Bolin and JR have known each other for 4 or 5 years ago. They first met in Arles, France. During Liu Bolin's first performance for Hiding in New York in 2011 (at that time, in front of the Kenny Scharf mural on Houston and Bowery) JR stopped by to give his regards. Almost a year later the two would collaborate on a piece."



"First, JR photographed Liu Bolin's face (the frame denotes his left eye partially visible through the fingers of his left hand) (Liu Bolin is predominately left-handed when creating sculptures and painting) Then JR and his assistants pasted the mural onto his studio door.  Once the pasting was completed, we waited for the correct light and Liu Bolin and his assistants then painted JR into his own image. Perched on scaffolding across the street, (there was a SUV parked from the correct POV, so we elevated camera to combat this) Liu Bolin directed his assistants with a laser pointer to perfect every last detail. The final product, a photograph."



"Frankly, Liu Bolin and JR respect each other's work; even so much that JR has collected one of Liu Bolin's pieces. I think that it is fantastic that a cultural bridge is connected with these two artists. They are no doubt, two very important artists of our time; both having very distinct messages within their work. I consider their collaboration a homage to one another." - Zachary Bako.

Anindya Chakraborty sent in his series of photographs on Dhokra, an ancient metal casting process taking place in West Bengal. Here is the story in his words.

"The village of Deriapur in West Bengal is not very much known to outsiders. Although Indians are familiar with metal casting for more than five thousands years and Dokra is one of the ancient metal casting process still existing within Santhals, there are less people to take notice of it."

"The people of Deriapur have a unique history. They belonged to Malhar tribe which was nomadic in nature. Finally they settled in two places in West Bengal, India. One of those two places is Deriapur where around 50 families are putting up. Their art of creating metal structures is beautiful but silent. It does not ring bell in Governments officials who are busy in much more important matters and they closed their office which used to lend out money to the artisans sometime back. Media has many other important things to cover as well so the people of Deriapur are slowly getting the same idea and moving on."



"Some of their children go to school and drop out because of money and elders work mostly in fields or they prefer to drink when they have some money. Art can come later. Around 20 years back one of these people got an award from the President for his talent and got 1 Lakh Indian rupees (which was a good amount that time)."



"The same person now goes to field for living. They don't have much complains though and they are slowly getting into a state which we call - terribly happy!"





All images © Anindya Chakraborty

All images © Mark Sherratt

Compare these with the stifling photographs from 'Don't Breathe' by Ronny Sen that I published here last year.

© Carsten Stormer

I am honoured to publish the work of Carsten Stormer, a German writer and photographer. Carsten brings to our attention a horrendous form of violence in Cambodia: acid throwing.

"They call themselves survivors, refusing to accept the stigma of victimhood. And somehow, they survive. You see them on sugarcane plantations in the middle of nowhere. In the trash dumps of Phnom Penh. In flimsy bamboo lean-tos where relatives hide their own shame and helplessness. People call them Cambodia's living dead. They are the forgotten victims of a war that ended a generation ago but lives on in the souls of the country's people.

"Acid attacks deprive people of more than their looks and sight. Families are torn apart. Husbands leave their wives, and vice versa. Children are separated from their parents. Jobs vanish overnight, turning professionals into beggars. Many victims cannot get through a day without constant assistance, becoming burdens on their families. All bear the mark of the pariah."



"There is an invisible wall dividing Cambodia. Since global companies discovered its low wages, the country is in the fast lane back to the future. But there has been no public discussion of the civil war and mass murder committed over 30 years ago by the Khmer Rouge. Hardly anyone was held accountable. It was simply assumed that time heals all wounds - somehow. The past fades to black. Only the present counts, the here and now.

"What remains is a traumatized society in which domestic disputes, unhappy love affairs, and professional rivalries are nearly always resolved through violence. Hardly a family without its members lost to the ideological battles of the Khmer Rouge - a curse that is passed on from parents to children. Battery acid is known to be most uncomplicated way of causing lifelong suffering. A dollar will buy you a quart of acid on any street corner. The perpetrators are seldom punished. Their targets become outcasts."

"There is no specific criminal law on acid attacks, and the attacks are not tallied separately from other assaults. The authorities are aware of 11 cases so far in 2011, but the unreported number could be much higher. Many victims are terrified any form of resistance might provoke another attack. Many cases disappear without a trace in the Cambodian court system." Carsten Stormer.

Unlike similar incidents in Pakistan or Bangladesh, acid attacks in Cambodia don't focus on women only. According to Wikipedia "..these type of attacks are most common in Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and other nearby countries. ...80% of victims of these acid attacks are female and almost 70% are under 18 years of age.

The photos were in the final of the Leica-Oscar-Barnack-Award as well as on the shortlist for the Henri-Nannen-Award.

All images © Carsten Stormer

Gail, Behind Her Room, 2006

Laura Noel has been photographing the sneaky fag break for several years. I like what she says on her website about this project so I'll leave it to her to expand. Check out her other work, too. When I hear photographers saying they don't know what to shoot, I want to send them to people like Laura.

Whitney, Behind Her Job, 2006

"Though this is a fairly broad subject, I am primarily interested in visualizing the emotions involved in the decision to smoke. I consider these portraits to be psychological in nature, as well as an examination of the places smokers have retreated to. The pull of self-image and addiction is very strong. 

My pictures concern the attitudes - defiance, enjoyment, resignation, and contentment - of those who continue to smoke cigarettes in the face of public disapproval. More importantly, these portraits reveal that for some smokers, cigarettes are a way to enter into a state of contemplation.
 
This introspective pause in a hectic world is more valuable to smokers than non-smokers would imagine."



Amy, In Her Backyard, 2005

"A residue of glamour can also be seen in these photographs - the theatrical inhaling and exhaling, the sensual pleasure of watching smoke float and dissipate in the air, and the primal tie to fire. Though we may not approve of the act, we can understand the appeal of smoking, however false it may turn out to be.
 
Since the anti-smoking movement began gaining momentum in the 1970's, culminating in the current ban on public consumption, smokers have become social refugees banished to windy corners, cars, and private rooms. I am interested in exploring the idea that society has become so disenchanted with smokers, that we have tried to legislate them out of existence."

Barry, Behind The Lab, 2010

"Of course, smoking is unhealthy and potentially fatal, but my images are not a defense of this dangerous practice, but instead a portrait of a diverse group of people united by a habit."

All images © Laura Noel