The fourth biennial Singapore International Photography Festival opens October 3rd. Although the festival features photographers from thirty-five countries,* it emphasizes new photography from Southeast Asia, and much of the work reflects the social and economic flux in the region.
The Chinese photographer Wang Qingsong draws from personal experience. Speaking of his childhood, he said, “I remember a lot of Soviet tanks going around when I was three.” His staged photography incorporates these memories alongside themes of urbanization. Huang Qingjun’s “Family Stuff,” produced over a decade, documents the possessions of families across China. Taking a similar approach, Zinkie Aw asked her subjects to pose with their household trash, revealing the flashy marketing of their consumer goods.
For Wang, this period of tremendous change is an opportunity for a new wave of Asian photography. As he sees it, “in the long run the expansion of Asian art will definitely have an impact on Western art history.”
All images courtesy Singapore International Photography Festival 2014.
*This post has been updated to reflect an increase in the number of countries participating in the festival.
*Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the main location of the festival; it is the Festival Village at DECK, not the National Museum of Singapore.
