Encountering the Past and Local Fashion, Dow Wasikisiri

Extending his projects Encountering the Past and Local Fashion, Thai photographer took to the streets of Sunderland city centre to create a performative pop-up photostudio during The Social: Encountering Photography Photo Festival.

Dow’s original series Encountering the Past responds to and reanimates archival imagery of Chiang Mai, placing it in the geographical location in which it was taken and observing the modern residents responding to it.  In Sunderland, archival images from Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens collection were printed large and processioned around the city, prompting conversation about the city’s social and industrial history.

Revisiting his approach to the Local Fashion project, Dow invited Sunderland shoppers to participate in a pop-up photo studio, influenced by the the style of colonial outdoor portrait photography.  Dow’s use of fabric backdrops  ‘extracts the subjects out of the context for a minute so we can see them as they are. ‘

These works were exhibited in Ratchaburi, Thailand in December 2013.

Dow’s projects Conversations with the Past and Reframing the Present were exhibited in The Post-Colonial Photo Studio exhibition, curated by Alexander Supartono during The Social.

www.dowwasiksiri.com