Hin Chua's Magnetic North

One of the things I’ve been doing a lot more of in the last couple of years has been talking about photography. I’ve always respected artists who have been able to talk eloquently about their work and spin an interesting story around their photographs. One occasionally feels the urge to call bullshit, but I’ll excuse most implausible justifications for making photographs if they’re at least clever or entertaining. Especially when you’ve experienced the painful counterpoint: the poor individual who struggles to contribute more than a couple of semi-meaningful sentences about their work.

I’ve been thinking about how I want to present myself as I speak. Perhaps “present” is the wrong word? Is it “brand”? Or is it just choosing which parts of your personality you choose to reveal in public? As I write this, I’m trying to recall all the memorable talks that I’ve experienced over the years.

You’ve got the old sages like Stephen Shore, Joel Meyerowitz and Tod Papageorge, the big dogs who’ve been doing this for so long that they’ve completely nailed their mellifluous spiel and polished it to the point of transforming it into a performance. Of course, because they’ve been doing this for so long, various subjects will inevitably crop up: the mischievous juvenile in me suggests you drink a beer every time the latter pair mentions Winogrand, for example.

Then there are the dominating, eccentric personalities, akin to bulls in a china shop. I’m talking about the William Klein’s, the Bruce Gilden’s and in a quieter way, the Eggleston’s or Goldin’s. Always memorable, always entertaining: the mad scientist in me wants to put Gilden, Klein, Anders Petersen and Danny Lyon together in a room just to see what happens.

The vast remaining majority fall between these two extremes. I recall sitting through dozens of talks where the speaker’s been projecting a veneer of complete control and professionalism and thinking “man, does the person have everything completely nailed down, or are they just faking it really well?” I recall dozens more incidents where pretty much nothing memorable is being said… I mean, words are escaping from mouths, but everything is so measured, un-opinionated and bland that I am reminded of Diet Coke: empty calories. I can usually recall the photographs from those talks, but never anything else.

My favourites are those who are clearly switched on (sophisticated and intelligent), yet who don’t take themselves too seriously (sense of humour and ability laugh at themselves) and who are more than willing to express an opinion (brave enough to criticise). Anyone who’s listened to Paul Graham or Simon Norfolk knows what I’m talking about. When I heard Zed Nelson and Richard Mosse speak intelligently about their projects, I also greatly appreciated their willingness to reveal a little vulnerability, to admit to moments of less than complete clarity, to be able to laugh and describe some of their misadventures.

One of my favourite talks which combines a variety of personalities is the “Truth and Authenticity” discussion at the New York Public Library involving Papageorge, Graham, Katy Grannan, Danny Lyon and Mitch Epstein (you can listen to it here).

Anyway, what’s the point of this post? If there is one, it’s that in September (and in far humbler circumstances), I’ll be hanging out with Jason Larkin, Ben Roberts, Maja Daniels, Laura Pannack and Nick Ballon in Brighton to talk about… well, I’m not quite sure yet, but I know we’ll figure something out. You should drop by if you have the chance, tickets only cost £5 (you can buy them here) which works out to only 83p per photographer.

As for how I’m going to present myself? Well, I probably won’t be reading off a script, relying upon my spiel or taking myself too seriously; ultimately you might be surprised by how much you can get away with if you have a good smile and dimples!