BANGKOK — Combining her favorite Chopin tune with her preferred shooting time, Taipei-born photographer Nana Chen will launch her work capturing the unseen sides of Yaowarat on Friday.
During a recent stay in Bangkok, Chen wandered around at night capturing lesser seen views of Chinatown. Twelve of her best photos will show on Ilford gold fibre silk paper in “Nocturne by Nana Chen” not far from where they were shot at Project 189.
Despite being a violinist, Nana’s passion is piano, and Chopin’s Nocturnes have long been her favorite earworm. Although the 21 classical tunes have nothing to do with her project, the artist named her latest work “Nocturne” as she could only work at night during the heat of May.
“I do like to shoot at night more than the day. It’s quiet, there are fewer people and a little sense of danger keeps me curious and aware. I also like that artificial light can create a theatrical result,” said the Ho Chi Minh-based photographer.
Chen’s work has been featured internationally in The Observer and Marie Claire. She has travelled and created art in various cities including Atlanta, Buenos Aires and Copenhagen.
Her photographs of Hong Kong’s Chungking Mansions were exhibited at RMA Institute earlier this year, and Chen also participated in the French Embassy’s Gallery Hopping Night in May.
The exhibition will be held for one day only from 7pm to 10pm on Friday.
Project 189 Bangkok is a shophouse-turned-gallery on Soi Nana on the eastern edge of Chinatown. It can be reached on foot from MRT Hua Lamphong, Exit No. 2.
