HIP

The thin red line, separates right from left.

An extract of a Fritz Hansen ad from Wallpaper magazine. Some say the biggest commodity of our generation is creative knowledge and hence the need for strong Intellectual Property Rights. But there is a strong minority (don't overlook the site's 'legal disclaimer contract'!) that feels betrayed by such rights. Rights that were created to protect and stimulate creativity, they say have been used to suppress creativity and shelter monopolist. In an act of protest, the term "Freedom of Expression" has been registered as a USPTO trademark by an activist. Although the mark falls under class 16 ISGS, which covers, in short, printed matter, it is still ironic. The trademark owner Kembrew McLeod found it disturbing that:

"At first, the USPTO informed me that parts of my application were 'not acceptable', but not because the thought of cordoning off 'freedom of expression' was troubling. No one at the USPTO seemed to be morally, socially or politically unsettled by this notion. Instead, a civil servant lawyer explained to me that it was unacceptable because I had filled out the application incorrectly: 'the mark is not typed entirely in capital letters'."
~Freedom of Expression, Resistance and Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property

Design houses like Fritz Hansen thrive on creativity and rightfully seek to protect their original works; And artists want to express themselves without fear of ending up in court. Like almost everything in life, a balance is required. That has never been an issue. The big grouse is where to draw the line.

Ghost

Charles Ghost, Stool Standing

Even the humble and insignificant can look tall and intimidating. A couple of days ago, I browsed through a photo book at Borders titled Inside North Korea. In it was a picture of a colossal statue of Kim Il Sung taken in Pyongyang. The caption to the photograph noted that photos of the statue can only be taken as a whole, meaning one can't just publish a photo of the head or legs of the statue alone. Doing so would be a mark of great disrespect. I find it amusing how the North Korean authorities try to control the simple act of framing a photograph. Perhaps this highlights the understated power of a perspective. Thus, if a symbol of authority can be diminished by framing, so a humble stool can be exalted by a different angle. Its all a matter of perspective, ain't it.

Requiem

Memories of a last walk.

Looking back on exchange, and all the colours seem to have faded from memory. And all that I am left with is a shadow from the past. Yet, in a way I am glad that at least it has left an impression, regardless of how fleeting an impression. Coming back, or rather the days just before I left Denmark were probably the best days. I was stuck in a sort of twilight zone, enthusiastically trying to savour every last minute I had left in Denmark and at the same time entertaining romantic notions about home. Was it greed or selfishness that made me want the best of both worlds and none of the responsibilities? Perhaps its just human nature.

Paradise

Paradise in a garden.

I came across an interesting quotation in another Dawkins' book in which he was lambasting religious fundamentalism. The quote was from an op-ed by Nasra Hassan for The New Yorker titled An Arsenal of Believers:

"The power of the spirit pulls us upward, while the power of material things pulls us downward," he said. "Someone bent on martyrdom becomes immune to the material pull." Our planner asked, "What if the operation fails?" We told him, "in any case, we get to meet the Prophet and his companions, inshallah". We were floating, swimming, in the feeling that we were about to enter eternity. We had no doubts. We made an oath on the Koran, in the presence of Allah - a pledge not to waver. This jihad pledge is called bayt al ridwan, after the garden in Paradise that is reserved for the prophets and the martyrs. I know that there are other ways to do jihad. But this one is sweet - the sweetest. All martyrdom operations, if done for Allah's sake, hurt less than a gnat's bite!"

The rest of the article which is an interesting read can be found here. This quote reminded me of the movie Paradise Now which I watched a couple of weeks back. I thought it offered a new perspective on the suicide bomber. I always knew that it was religious indoctrination that lead these young impressionable men to their deaths, but through the movie I saw the circumstances of their lives and the stench of desperation that lingered in their community. And it is this desperation that makes the alternative, death, a paradise of sorts. And perhaps because of this desperation, a result of economic and political oppression, that religion takes another fall. Religion, albeit taken out of context, is just the nectar that sweetens the deal, not the hand that directs. The Palestinian issue is now no longer the media darling, being overshadowed by bloodshed in Iraq and sabre rattling over Iran and North Korean. Nevertheless, it is pertinent to note that the Palestinian situation could easily be replicated anywhere else, and perhaps it already has been.

Eyeballed

An inner silence?

I have been trying to take more portraits but due to a lack of willing subjects, I find myself spending more time in my garden harassing its inhabitants and of course poor Liz. Being on a portraiture theme, I tried to frame the lizard in a humanesque profile and it amicably cooperated by gazing down the lens. This common garden lizard had a certain regal air about it, from the angle of its head to its sidewards glance; a blue blooded commoner.

"The true portrait therefore is one in which the subject represented is not caught in any action, and does not even show any expression that might detract from the person in themselves."
~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Barcelona

God is in the details.

Whilst waiting for class to begin yesterday, I browsed through a classmate's home trends magazine which featured quite a few Barcelona chairs. Barcelona, a word with so many associations. To the one who knows that Barcelona to me means chairs, a pavilion, Gaudi, Picasso and pickpockets; you were right, its all in the details. I prefer Mies van der Rohe's version of the proverb. But be it God or the devil, it is indeed the details that dictate. Overlook the details and one might get a match but never a perfect fit. We all learn that sooner or later, someway, somehow.

Lucky

A roll of Goodwill; I should be so Lucky.

I loaded the first of my Lucky Black and White Film today. Many Thanks to the originator of this Goodwill. I hope the shots will turn out well. I always hope.

Ghost

The conversation continues, long after.

The chairs have been in the same position since Saturday night and so, maybe, "the past presents the future" indeed.
Is today a continuation or a new start? But does it really matter anymore? Of late, I have found myself saying on one too many occasions that a thing or event is not good or bad, it just is. And perhaps that is the sad truth. Yet we all know that there is no absolute truth; No truth, no falsehood, no good, no bad. Just a state of continuum, which we call existence.
Happy 25th.

Botak

Botak, Botak, Botak Liz

Since all the girls are now going for the Pob, I've decided to give Liz the current craze of the animal kingdom, the Ratatouille look. We all want our 5 seconds of fame, yes, even animals and yes, even if that famous personality is a rat. Jokes aside, we had to shave Liz because of a nasty skin infection. No, she didn't always look like this and no, I didn't get a new dog and named it Liz too.

Door

我知道伤心不能改变什么
那么让我诚实一点
诚实难免有不能控制的宣泄
只有关上了门不必理谁

Resident

Free as they seem, even birds need a home.

This little bird roosts everynight on the coral tree in my garden. For some strange reason, the branches in the photo remind me of the Chinese Wisterias influenced cross hatch motif used by Zeng Fanzhi in some of his paintings I saw at the "Idealism" exhibition at SAM.

Wet

Another rainy day.
When it rains it pours.
No shit.

Upstairs

Boys at work.

Photography has become readily accessible to more and more people; especially with the advent of digital photography. And as a result of this, we are subconsciously bombarded by more and more images than before. I am not talking about just mass media assaults from fashion spreads or ad campaigns but also facebook, friendster, google, forums, flickr, blogs etc etc. And perhaps the result of all this is that like inflation, the value we place in an image becomes diluted; till the point where a photo is no more than just a collage of colour. We no longer question the context, the circumstances, things that make a photo different from any other medium. What is possibly child labour in a sweatshop could easily be boys helping out at the family shop during the school holidays. Mass exposure has resulted in complacent acceptance. The viewer has the right to be complacent, but us camera wielders have no such excuse. Increased accessibility has also brought about empowerment. Camera wielders now have the power to make a difference, to tell a story through their machines, be it a point and shoot or a dslr. A photograph should tell a story, and a photograph should move, just like how James Nachtwey's photos moved me.

Transparency

There's always time to stay in touch.

This photo was snapped along Istanbul's Istiklal Caddesi, near Taksim Square, the scene of mass protest just a couple of days before. The protestors were out in force to ensure that Turkey remained a secular state. Nevertheless, through a democractic poll, Mr Gul, a self-proclaimed-reformed-islamist was elected as Turkey's next president. I hope that there won't be any more headlines on this matter.

Talking about headlines, the recent news reports about the unrest in Myanmar brought to mind a book I recently read on the histories of Burma. In it, our nation and first pm were mentioned on more than one occasion in close association with Ne Win, the military junta's founding father. I've always been an advocate of Trade and an advocate against embargoes and isolationism. Gunboat dipomacy opened Japan to trade and although Adm Perry's modus operandi is not at all commendable Japan did greatly benefit from the exposure, in the long run. Some of my friends feel very strongly about trading with Myanmar (yes, you Fab). I suppose I echo Mr Thant Myint-U views:
"So what is the future? There are no easy options, no quick fixes, no grand strategies that will create democracy in Burma overnight or even over several years. If Burma were less isolated, if there were more trade, more engagement - more tourism in particular- and if this were coupled with a desire by the government for greater economic reform, a rebuilding of state institutions, and a slow opening up of space for civil society, then perhaps the conditions for political change would emerge over the next decade or two." ~ The River of Lost Footsteps, Thant Myint-U

I think Mr Thant's views can be loosely summed up under two headings. Trade and Transparency. Don't worry, I'm not about to go all Glasnost and Perestroika on you all, but I do feel strongly about TT; and that they go hand in hand. Having said that, I do also hold the view that the hand in hand factor only comes in at a later stage. There must be an influx of trade before any transparency will materialise. However, I don't think that Myanmar's problem now is with trade. There are many nations who are willing to trade with her in spite of the populist view that trade with a military state is a mortal sin. I think the question is when if ever will Myanmar's military junta embrace the crucial element of Transparency? Your guess is as good as mine. I think it only will, when it is confident of the fact that transparency does not always equate to fragility, just like a police riot shield.

Garden

Lets just forget the world.
Forget what we're told, before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life.