The Science of Eight Limbs

Over the past two years, while continuing work on a long-term project dealing with machismo and confrontation, I've been making trips to northern Thailand to photograph Muay Thai fighters. Traveling far from the city-center arenas, I made my way to small, regional stadiums on the outskirts of Chiang Mai and to the grounds of Buddhist Temples where locals gather outside to watch "the science of eight limbs" in action. Fists, knees, shins and elbows; connecting violently with their opponents bodies. These fighters, tough as hell, start in this combat sport as young as eight years old. The smacks of shin-to-torso contact echo through the open, night air. My ribs would've turned to dust. I'm drawn to how different cultures express or define masculinity and how it plays a roll in their customs; how aggression and bravado manifest themselves in the individual. Some fight each other while others project their spirit into the forms of animals or machines to do the sparring for them. I personally don't take to confrontation well, but through the lens, I address it; attempt to understand and bear witness to the conflict around me. I use the camera to explore and find moments that distinguish individuals and their surroundings. I see the world as a documentary film; an infinite narrative with vast subplots in which I aim to chronicle the mise-en-scène. My interest lies in what happens “between the takes”; the unguarded truths that reveal themselves when introspection rises to the surface and exposes a fleeting vulnerability in man and environment.