Ατομική έκθεση φωτογραφίας
Alain Schroeder
Έναρξη έκθεσης: Παρασκευή 8 Σεπτεμβρίου, 21:00
Blank Wall Gallery
Φωκίωνος Νέγρη 55 Κυψέλη
[p]+30.211.4052.138 [m]+30.694.3868.124 www.blankwallgallery.com
Επιμέλεια έκθεσης: Μάρκος Δολόπικος
Διάρκεια έκθεσης: Από 8 Σεπτεμβρίου έως 20 Σεπτεμβρίου 2023
Η Blank Wall Gallery ανοίγει τη σεζόν 2023-2024 με την ατομική έκθεση του πολυβραβευμένου Βέλγου φωτογράφου Alain Schroeder.
O Alain Schroeder γεννήθηκε στο Βέλγιο το 1955 και ασχολείται κυρίως με το φωτορεπορτάζ. Έχει εικονογραφήσει πάνω από 30 βιβλία που αφορούν στην Κίνα, την Περσία, την Αναγέννηση, την Τοσκάνη, την Κρήτη, τη Βενετία κ.λπ. Επίσης έχει δημοσιεύσεις σε περιοδικά όπως το National Geographic,το Geo, το Paris-Match κ.α.
Fighters gather to be paired off before a competition in Surin. Weigh-ins take place a day before the fight or on the same day to ensure that the fighters meet the respective weight classes. An attendant weighs each fighter and writes the number (in kilos) on their chest. Then a specialist pairs the combatants according to weight, age and experience to ensure a less dangerous and more interesting fight.
Far from Thailand’s iconic tourist destinations, Isaan, the kingdom’s largest region, reaches north and east to the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Poverty forces many residents to seek work in Bangkok, but fearing the temptations of city life (drugs, gangs, sex trade…), children are often left behind under the care of grandparents.
To keep them out of trouble, and with the prospect of earning money to support the family, kids are enrolled in Muay Thai (the traditional martial art of Thai boxing that is the country’s national sport) as early as 5, and can be competing by 6-7 years old.
Training camps (2500 in Isaan and 1200 in Bangkok) are schools of life filled with deprivation, discipline and respect for fellow combatants. Every story is similar, the kids dream of one day fighting on TV, building a house for their parents and defending the pride of their community, while gym owners, trainers and families rely heavily on their earnings.
Betting is fierce and the pressure on the children is palpable. Few will become champions, but for poor kids with limited options, Muay Thai is a way to meet the cultural expectation of helping their families and a chance at a better life.
In July 2021, the IOC recognized Muay Thai as an Olympic sport. It promises to be a baptism by fire at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for many young fighters who are now starting to dream not only of money, but also of medals and glory.
Έχει αποσπάσει πολλά διεθνή βραβεία στην πολυετή καριέρα του όπως το Japan Nikon Award, το World Press Photo Award, το Yves Rocher Foundation Photo Award καθώς και πολλά άλλα.
Ο ίδιος λέει για τη δουλειά του: «Με ενδιαφέρει πολύ να διηγούμαι ιστορίες που σχετίζονται με τους ανθρώπους και το περιβάλλον τους. Διαφορετικές κουλτούρες, τρόποι ζωής, τελετουργίες και έθιμα με συναρπάζουν. Προσπαθώ να πω μία ιστορία σε 10-15 εικόνες αιχμαλωτίζοντας την ουσία της στιγμής χρησιμοποιώντας το φως και το τέλειο κάδρο.»
In preparation, fighters sit on floor mats around the stadium to oil their bodies and hair and wrap their hands and wrists to minimize injuries. Reusable cloth wraps are used for training while gauze bandages and tape are used in competition. Two young fighters from the same gym stand ready to fight.
Far from Thailand’s iconic tourist destinations, Isaan, the kingdom’s largest region, reaches north and east to the borders of Laos and Cambodia. Poverty forces many residents to seek work in Bangkok, but fearing the temptations of city life (drugs, gangs, sex trade…), children are often left behind under the care of grandparents.
To keep them out of trouble, and with the prospect of earning money to support the family, kids are enrolled in Muay Thai (the traditional martial art of Thai boxing that is the country’s national sport) as early as 5, and can be competing by 6-7 years old.
Training camps (2500 in Isaan and 1200 in Bangkok) are schools of life filled with deprivation, discipline and respect for fellow combatants. Every story is similar, the kids dream of one day fighting on TV, building a house for their parents and defending the pride of their community, while gym owners, trainers and families rely heavily on their earnings.
Betting is fierce and the pressure on the children is palpable. Few will become champions, but for poor kids with limited options, Muay Thai is a way to meet the cultural expectation of helping their families and a chance at a better life.
In July 2021, the IOC recognized Muay Thai as an Olympic sport. It promises to be a baptism by fire at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games for many young fighters who are now starting to dream not only of money, but also of medals and glory.
Σε αυτή την έκθεση παρουσιάζονται τέσσερεις ενότητες. Δύο ασπρόμαυρες και δύο έγχρωμες. Ο Alain βρίσκει ενδιαφέρον να φωτογραφίζει τόσο την αστική ζωή και το δυτικό τρόπο ζωής όσο και θέματα που σχετίζονται με την οικολογία αλλά και τον ανθρωπισμό. Σε αυτή την έκθεση υπάρχουν ασπρόμαυρες φωτογραφίες από ένα συνοικιακό café στις Βρυξέλλες και έγχρωμες φωτογραφίες από το Upper East End της Νέας Υόρκης, αλλά και φωτογραφίες από την Ταϊλάνδη μικρών παιδιών που παίρνουν μέρος σε αγώνες Muay Thai, ένα γεγονός που αποτελεί μέρος της παράδοσης και της καθημερινότητάς τους, αλλά και εικόνες που παρουσιάζουν το μέγεθος της οικολογικής καταστροφής που επιτελείται σε πολλές περιοχές του πλανήτη, ιδιαίτερα σε τριτοκοσμικές χώρες.
Men illegally working in the river with rubber tree logs. Once felled, the trees are dried in order to prepare them for flotation. To speed up the drying process, they are burned before being transported from the jungle about 1.5 km from here. The wood is sold to small, local factories that use it as an energy source. A pickup truck load of wood sells for about 350,000 Indonesian rupiahs or 21 euros.
Orangutans live in trees. They eat, sleep, give birth and move through the forest in the trees. Without them, they simply cannot survive. As humans continue to destroy and fragment the rainforest, orangutans are forced to the ground looking for food and safe haven; both of which are running out.
Indonesia’s abundant natural resources have attracted large-scale foreign investment for decades with loosely regulated mining, logging, and palm oil production causing irreparable harm to its biodiversity. Widespread deforestation is now the primary threat to the extinction of the critically endangered orangutan who can only be found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.
Exploitative entertainment and the exotic pet trade are also threats. Nothing about an orangutan wearing boxing gloves is natural. And yet, enough tourists continue to support such antics, fueling a global multi-million dollar industry.
But for every harmful act, there is a save.
For every forest burned and cleared, every surface mine opened, every unsustainable infrastructure project, there are people rescuing, caring for and working to return orangutans to their natural habitat.
For every orangutan forced to perform, trafficked, or poached, others are undergoing surgery and rehabilitation in dedicated hospitals and clinics with many organizations doing heroic work to save our closest living relatives.
But the question remains, is it too late to save orangutans?
Όλοι όσοι ενδιαφέρονται να δουν τη δουλειά του Alain Schroeder, μπορούν να περάσουν από τη Blank Wall Gallery από την Παρασκευή 8 Σεπτεμβρίου μέχρι και την Πέμπτη 20 Σεπτεμβρίου.
Born in the UK, Lisa (76) clearly remembers arriving in New York Harbor in 1948. The family was moving to Los Angeles, but within 48 hours her father had fallen in love with Manhattan and decided to stay. Lisa has lived her entire life on the Upper East Side and in her current apartment since 1973. When asked if she would ever leave, she answers with a tone of astonishment, “Why?” An accomplished decorative artist, her home is her palette and she does not think twice about painting a wall just because people are coming over. With grace and elegance this former ballerina and model moves through space with a sense of style and whimsy.
General caption:
White glove buildings, designer boutiques, Museum Mile and ladies who lunch are some of the images associated with Manhattan’s Upper East Side (UES). Numbered streets running east/west from (roughly) 59th to 96th street are vertically dissected by famous avenues such as Park, Madison and Fifth, from the East River to the edge of Central Park, in a classic grid pattern. The Upper East Side is widely considered New York City’s most affluent neighborhood.
Originally divided into the smaller neighborhoods of Lenox Hill, named after a wealthy landowner, Yorkville, a predominantly German enclave, and Carnegie Hill, for the esteemed philanthropist, the boundaries have faded over the last century though each retains a distinct personality and iconic landmarks. Statistically, the majority of the population on the Upper East Side is older and wealthier relative to the the rest of New York City, but not everyone is in the top tax bracket; many UES residents live in rent-controlled apartments.
After years of construction and inconvenience, the new 2nd Avenue subway line now links the furthest reaches of the Upper East Side to the rest of Manhattan making the neighborhood even more desirable. While some longtime residents are fighting the development boom and lament the disappearance of family-run businesse
Είσοδος Ελεύθερη
Πληροφορίες:
[p]+30.211.4052.138
[m]+30.694.7725.521
Ωράριο Λειτουργίας:
Δευτέρα – Τρίτη
Τετάρτη – Παρασκευή: 17:30 – 21:30
Σάββατο: 12:30-14:30
