"In The Mi(d)st Of Pale Breathe” by Viriya Chotpanyavisut
Viriya Chotpanyavisut a Thai photographer based in Bangkok, Thailand. With his project "In The Mi(d)st Of Pale Breathe”, he explores with the idea of giving life to inanimate objects in the most poetic way by incorporating environmental factors; mainly light into his work.
“The movement of light particles, the incident of a reflection, the ephemeral of delicate things, I consider this like a respiration, a breath of light. These phenomena can be perceived by the temperature, air humidity, dust particles, etc. The camera makes it possible to halt movement, change the color or saturate the space to show, ‘’ Viriya states.
His work is undeniably alluring and magical in a way the object itself alone is unable to achieve. All of the factors have to come together at the right moment for him to capture; to create the images. “Many of the photos in the collection took time and patience to create. For instance, 6 Degrees Below Horizon 2017 was taken in France when I was an artist-in-residence and interested in civil twilight. The photo is an unusual combination of the visual of light and the shadow of a white plastic cup on sandy ground during the golden hour.” His exhibition (at Ver Gallery, Bangkok) is set in a dark room to give life to ‘light’ as if it was a character that fulfils each images. He is also interested in the question of how the environment affect its surroundings and human behavior, “I intended to experiment with natural light at a time where the changing climate and the exhausting heat dissuade most Bangkokians from spending much time outdoors. This work tries to question and confront the different paces of life.” As each moment in life is ever fleeting, Viriya is able to capture each moment poetically; giving life and meaning to all the mundane things we take for granted.
