10 years and then....

July 30, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

I looked through the first edit materials from these last 5 years of "Wok the Dog" and some 3-4 edit from the first 5 years I was shooting the markets this morning.

Don like to say that once you been to 10 Asian markets you have been to them all. In all fairness to him, it really does seem the same after a while, especially when its not a project that you are invested in. Every now and then even I wonder to myself if I have had enough. If meat is meat, carcass is carcass and a fish being hit over the head is just that.

Yet as I looked through the archive this morning, many of the images really made me laugh out loud. They are pretty fucking incredible. Looking at them by city and by country, you really see a difference in each of the markets, the quality of light and a different type of life each markets have. Seeing the whole body of work through such expand in time and countries, I am again very excited about more - more countries, more markets, more carcasses!!!

I chose this image for the posting today because even though this image made it through the first edit, it did not make it through the second. Its a bit of "touristy" shot - but there is this moment with the little girl holding her mom's hand that makes all the difference in the world. Its a real moment of her wanting something, needing something, in amidst of these women being very aware of me and my presence. It made it real, more real than a stock image, a snap shot from a tourist and anything that Lonely Planet uses to lure me back on the plane with passport in hand.

Home is where...

July 23, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

We have lived in an amazing 5 bedroom house for the last 4.5 years and paying about the price of a 2-3 bedroom rental. Our landlords are coming back from Mexico and we must relocate.

We have had this news for about a week now and its still not any easier. I am simply stuck between a panic and very upset. I know that we had move eventually, we don't own this home, but I think I always thought that we would move when we are ready, on our terms. But more than the issue of lack of control, I have lived in this house the longest out of anywhere since I was 9 years old. It Don and mine first "home" together.

"Home" has always been a very difficult concept for me. I feel at "Home" when I am in Taipei with my mom, but that has less to do with the physical house and more so with her. Yet I also think of our place in LA as "Home." I am constantly confused by the fact that I feel at "Home" in more than one place.

What is "Home?" Where you hang your hat? Where the heart is? I know its a mythical place, a metaphor that we try to impose upon a physical structure. If I could figure out what makes a place "Home", then I would have an easier time with either having too many of such or even finding that ONE.

This is a great opportunity for us to figure out and envision the next stage of our lives, how we would like to live. I have thought about maybe we should move to Vashon, Wa - where we can rent a 2000sq ft plus house on a acre of land for half of what we pay in rent now. Or maybe we just rent a 1 bedroom in LA and use all of that extra money to travel and make various projects of ours come alive. Or maybe we could even not have a house here in LA and take that Gap year that I have always wanted to do.

Yet no matter where my thoughts drift in terms of possibilities of what we could do, I find myself wanting, needing a "Home." I am disturbed by that this house will not be my home soon and that I must make / find another. I am uneasy in my home now that I must soon leave.

Maybe home is simply where there is someone to hold your hand....

3 large image vs ONE

July 23, 2008
Los Angeles, Ca

Been swamped with preparations for the LA ArtCore show. Lydia Takeshita (Curator) had chosen 31 images for the show, but after much consideration, I have decided to only show 28 selections for my first solo show. Other than the selection process and narrowing down what to show, then there is the decision of what size should we display the work at and how do we price it?

At one point, we talked about spending the rest of our budget in simply reproducing 3 images at 7' long. It would be very beautiful and very impactful. It could stop traffic. Or do we play it safe and only reproduce 1 image at such size? If we had done 3 at 7' then there would only be 15 smaller images accompanying the rest of the show. If we are conservative and only reproduce 1 at 7' then there would be up to 30 smaller images. The Classic quality vs quantity problem.

After much thought and discussion, Don and I decided the images will be presented in 3 sizes, there will be one piece at 84" inches long, three at 40" inches and the remainder will be shown at the standard 20x24 which we have shown at other venues. We truly hope that we have made a sound decision here.

More often than not, this past few months, I find myself wanting a handbook that tells me about how to make these various decisions and the implications of each. We have always thought of ourselves as relatively business savvy artists - that we ultimately understand that there is a cold hard reality to the business of art and being and artist. Yet, I still find myself uncertain at times and wishing for a handbook.

A summer feast with gastronmica and meat paper

July 20, 2008
San Francisco, CA

"wok the dog" is being published in the summer issue of gastronmica magazine. They teamed up with another magazine based out of san Francisco called meat paper and threw a party tonight. It was hosted at the perbacco resturant with many local food pervayors as sponsors.

I was invited to participate in the event and being 5 pieces of my work up to exhibit at this event.

We were fed many delicious things tonight. All the food was served in bit size as ordruves. Blood sausages, tongues, pork belly, marshmallows with bacon bits, things that you would not traditionally imagine to be served in small portions and be so delicious.

The event was very successful, yet I was lame in terms of net working though. I put out cards regarding the project, but I was too distracted by my old friend Scott, too excited to catch up with him, to seek out strangers to talk too. Must try harder next time.
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Its been 10 days already!!!

July 14, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

I cannot believe that I have been home for 10 days already and I have already shot 2 commercial jobs, had 2 dinner parties with friends, 2 movies seen and 4 episodes of "Weeds" watched.

Spending the day wrapping up the commercial job then I got to dive head first into dealing with the films that I shot on this latest trip. There are close to 50 rolls of film that needs to be scanned ( I have already done a prelim edit - can't do another edit until I scan them first and see them at a bigger size). UGGG!!! It will take at least a week to get it all scanned. Then of course, more edits, update the website with the new images, announcement for the update....It feels like not too long ago when I just finished the update from the Tibet trip. I am ready for an assistant!!!

Yet in the mist of all, what I really want to do is go down to the book store and pick up a few more Lonely Planet guides for all the more places that I am dreaming of going.

Red dirt of Cambodia

July 7, 2008
Los Angeles, CA

I have finally washed off the red Cambodia dirt and now I can't sleep.
Plus I have the post travel blues.
I miss being on the road already and I am already restless for our next trip. When we are traveling, backpacking, I find that I can live in the present tense much better. At home, I am in anticipation of tomorrow.

I feel as if I am visiting a strange land with strange people here in LA. Stranger and harder to relate than to any of the places I have visited, stranger than any other culture I have seen. I don't relate and I can't seem to summon up any compassion for them.

There are these bipedial animals walking about with cloths that have huge letterings on them, they cover their face in brightly colored powders, eyes with tinted plastic with shinny stones attached to the sides. They drive motorized carts with leather interiors and all of them are new, old does not exists here in this land. The meals are lavish and fermented drinks are consumed during all meals. But what is the most strange is how their eyes are vacant, and a smile is no where to be found. Its as if they all have been captured and have their dreams stolen. They no longer could dream, they no longer could smile for strangers.

I miss the red dirt, I wish that I could sleep.

Our version of "the terminal" and first sip of real coffee

July 3, 2008

Phnom penh to Bangkok to LAX



A day of transit for us. Yesterday was really the last day of our trip and as always, I feel like I have not seen enough and that there is always more, more markets, more adventurs, more glimps of real life as othes live them, in uniforms and pajamas.



We have 10 hours to kill here at the Bangkok airport and I almost think it be fun if we reenacted the movie "the termail" with tom hanks. Only I don't remember too much of it.



We have encounterd our first Starbucks here in south east Asia. I am not a great fan of their over roasted coffee but it beats nest cafe any day. Think the biggest drawl of Starbucks is that its consistent. But this also means that we are not too far away from returning to life as we know it.



So now all the worries and what not that I have managed to not make contact with over the last 4 weeks are returning. Press efforts for the sept show, gastronomica event, installation of the Sept show and all the content that needs to sorted out before hand, not to mention all the thank you emails I will have to sent as soon as I get back.



Maybe I should just get the next flight out to where ever and not go home until I run out of film?!



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Pajamas for all occasions

July 1, 2008
Sihanoukville, Cambodia

One of the many curious things I have noticed here in Cambodia is that women and children seem to go outside and go about their day clothed in what we would called pajamas. The kind that are collared button down with pants in matching print patterns.

Well, I found out that such outfit is not considered to be pajamas here, but simply a matching outfit.

Pajamas is good for all occasions here in Cambodia!
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