Masked faces, a Leica camera slung over the shoulder, looking straight at the lens. Emmanuel Benoit's images in the "Portraits With A Leica" exhibition at Alliance Francaise Bangkok make you wonder who the subjects are.
Portraits WithALeica is on show at the passageway of Alliance Francaise Bangkok on Sathon Tai Road from today until June 1. The opening ceremony is Thursday at 6.30pm. The exhibition runs on weekdays from9amto6pmand9amto 5pmon Saturday. Free admission. Call 02-670-4231 or email chalanthorn.kidthang@alliance-francaise.or.th.
Benoit, an aeronautical engineer by profession, has been living in Bangkok for one year. Besides his work, he develops photography concepts through collage installations on location and portraits that question our multiple identities.
Going from one format and one camera to another, from a medium-format camera to a 24mm by 36mm camera or a Polaroid, he makes human beings the focus of his artistic commitment.
"When I arrived in Bangkok, some construction workers with naked ambition written on their faces caught my eye," Benoit said. "I asked them to pose wearing the masks they use as protection against the sun or dust, in front of the piece of white cloth that isolates them from their work environment. But it is the Leica camera slung over their shoulders that induces confusion as to the identity of these people. Are they journalists, science photographers or revolutionaries?"
