Open Category: Photojournalism / Story (AMATEUR) - HONORABLE MENTION
Taking To Heart
Photo © Argus Paul Estabrook
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[Author's Note: In October of 2016, I arrived in Bangkok as a visitor to a city in mourning. In daily life, time often moves too quickly for us to perceive, its passing going unnoticed. But following King Bhumibol’s death, time made itself known, present. I could sense moments slowing down through the collective mourning of the Thai people. Later in the evenings, time would snap back up, catching up to the non-stop nightlife that the city is known for. It was an ebb and flow of time I had never experienced before, and I hoped to capture it through my photographs. The following is a journal entry from that week.]
-10/29/2016:
How to feel time’s presence after a king dies? Infinite moments collect, reverberating in my teeth. The back of my jaw clenches from sadness, while the curtains of my cheeks push out an empathetic smile at the mention of his name. Here in the heart of Thailand, just two weeks after King Bhumibol's death, understanding has become a gift, like a carefully folded note that's passed from one hand to the next. And that is how his spirit lives on- in the unspoken understanding that passes from person to person, each interaction a precious, small gift. What lies in our hands now are those gifts: grace, dignity and humanity, given to and from the hearts of the Thai people.
We cannot let ourselves be trapped in the uncertainty of what comes next. Let our hearts beat together and allow yourself to feel the boundlessness of “now”. Together we feel time’s presence.
My photography has been published in Burn Magazine and LensCulture. It has also been awarded by the Magnum Photography Awards, Sony World Photography Awards, LensCulture, PDN, IPOTY, IPA, MIFA, TIFA, as well as selected for inclusion at the 2017 Aperture Summer Open: On Freedom.
More of my work @ www.arguspaul.com
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[Author's Note: In October of 2016, I arrived in Bangkok as a visitor to a city in mourning. In daily life, time often moves too quickly for us to perceive, its passing going unnoticed. But following King Bhumibol’s death, time made itself known, present. I could sense moments slowing down through the collective mourning of the Thai people. Later in the evenings, time would snap back up, catching up to the non-stop nightlife that the city is known for. It was an ebb and flow of time I had never experienced before, and I hoped to capture it through my photographs. The following is a journal entry from that week.]
-10/29/2016:
How to feel time’s presence after a king dies? Infinite moments collect, reverberating in my teeth. The back of my jaw clenches from sadness, while the curtains of my cheeks push out an empathetic smile at the mention of his name. Here in the heart of Thailand, just two weeks after King Bhumibol's death, understanding has become a gift, like a carefully folded note that's passed from one hand to the next. And that is how his spirit lives on- in the unspoken understanding that passes from person to person, each interaction a precious, small gift. What lies in our hands now are those gifts: grace, dignity and humanity, given to and from the hearts of the Thai people.
We cannot let ourselves be trapped in the uncertainty of what comes next. Let our hearts beat together and allow yourself to feel the boundlessness of “now”. Together we feel time’s presence.
About author:
I’m an emerging photographer currently based in Seoul, South Korea. As a Korean-American who grew up in a rural area of Virginia, I have a unique perspective of Korean identity and its relationship to both global and regional communities. I studied photography as an undergraduate, but set it aside during my MFA program at James Madison University to concentrate on intermedia. After moving to South Korea I rediscovered photography, using it as a means to document and share my experiences. In 2016, I mentored under David Alan Harvey to further study photographic philosophy and authorship.My photography has been published in Burn Magazine and LensCulture. It has also been awarded by the Magnum Photography Awards, Sony World Photography Awards, LensCulture, PDN, IPOTY, IPA, MIFA, TIFA, as well as selected for inclusion at the 2017 Aperture Summer Open: On Freedom.
More of my work @ www.arguspaul.com
BACK TO GALLERY
