{"id":1160,"date":"2015-08-27T13:25:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T13:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asiajournalist.com\/?p=1160"},"modified":"2015-08-27T13:38:17","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T13:38:17","slug":"bangkoks-chinatown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiajournalist.com\/?p=1160","title":{"rendered":"Bangkok Chinatown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Yvan<\/a>
Yvan Cohen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yvan Cohen has been photographing in the Chinatown district of Bangkok for some 6 years now – visiting once or twice a week, mostly at night.<\/span><\/p>\n

The project doesn’t have a clearly defined starting point because he didn\u2019t plan to document Chinatown; there was no initial goal and no assignment. He was simply drawn to an area that he found visually inspiring because it felt genuine, it felt evocative and it felt connected to the past.<\/span><\/p>\n

For anyone who knows Bangkok \u2013 or at least has an image of the city in their mind\u2019s eye \u2013 they will know from his pictures that the districts he has been photographing represent a neglected facet of this metropolis. The typical caricature of Bangkok is a city of exotic temples, gleaming skysrapers, steamy bars, saffron-clad monks and eternally smiling inhabitants.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Yvan<\/a>
Yvan Cohen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yet while much of Bangkok\u2019s appeal is derived from these images of oriental exoticism, the reality is that many local communities and numerous historic buildings have already been devoured by rapid and unplanned development. The Bangkok of the postcard and the travel brochure is fast disappearing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is precisely Chinatown\u2019s connection to the past, its anti-modern identity and its sense of culture, ancestry and tradition which draws him to it. Chinatown and a few other districts remain islands of authenticity where you can still catch glimpses of what life would have been like in this city decades, or perhaps even a century, ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Yvan<\/a>
Yvan Cohen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pictures don\u2019t carry a message per se, they don\u2019t document a burning issue but they are a testament to an aspect of this city\u2019s identity which is increasingly threatened. One day, perhaps not too far in the future, these pictures will serve as a visual bridge to the past and as a poignant reminder of a history and of an identity that risks being completely erased.<\/span><\/p>\n

See more of Yvan Cohen`s photos about Chinatown at:<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/yvancohen\/media_set?set=a.10150311334797854.321259.635342853&type=3
\n<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Also see:<\/span><\/p>\n

A video portrait by Bangkok based multimedia journalist Bradley Cox<\/a><\/span> of photographer Yvan Cohen in Bangkok’s Chinatown district from his\u00a0occasional series „Long Story Short“.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n