Imagining Flood is a photographic study of the recent floods in Bangkok. The collection of photos aims to capture the foreboding and surreal nature of the event by presenting the flood in a dreamlike and other worldly manner. When the news first arrived that Bangkok would be affected, concern naturally became widespread and all manner of preparation were made. The centre of city remained untouched but the sense of threat still lingered in people’s minds, as the city was encircled by water logged houses, streets and motorways. It is the sense of waiting and fear that first drew me to the project. Whether the floods have been experienced firsthand or through news reports, conjuring a mental image of the event cannot be avoided, which influenced my approach in shooting these scenes ¬ as if developed from the subconscious, contrasting with the urgent and frenetic style that has been depicted in the media. Each scene takes place at night or the early hours creating a dream like atmosphere. The series are deliberately shot at these particular times using a tripod and slow shutter speed in order to capture a sense of stillness and the sense of wait and dread that the floods had created.
Miti Ruangkritya
Lives and works in Bangkok. Born in Thailand in 1981, Miti Ruangkritya studied photography at the University of Westminster in London in 2009, before participating in the workshops of Angkor Photo with Antoine d’Agata in 2009, whose assistant he became in 2010 in Pattaya. His work has been exhibited in London, Paris, Bangkok, and Singapore. Since 2011, the work of Miti Ruangkritya has been awarded the prestigious prize of the silver medal for the Photography Prize of Paris, 2012, and that of Emerging Photographer in Great Britain (2011-2012).
Photo Phnom Penh festival
From December 8 – 13, 2012
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
