Have you recently been living by any life philosophy? Hey you gotta pay your dues, before you pay the rent. What will baffle future generations about our day and age? Our obsession with fossil fuels. Are you aware of any conspiracies? The world’s Lib-Labs are extraterrestrials from outer space, sent to destroy the earth. What is it that interests you about photography? It gives me a purpose. I can articulate my thoughts in ways that I’d otherwise fail. What is the worst thing about city life? Too many vices. What part of the planet would you like to explore? Nunavut territory. China/Mongolia/Kazakhstan. What do you think is the most plausible of the supernatural? BOB. I’ve spotted too many doppelgängers for comfort. If you had to align yourself with a leader in history, who would it be? Socrates. Pick a field of science to be an expert within. Geomagnetism (the study of the Earth’s magnetic fields). What moment have you most wished you’d had a camera when you hadn’t? The time I was invited to a beachside foot spa (for the elderly) in South Korea. Choose a job you would be willing to do for free on the side. Teaching photography as a creative therapy for people with mental health problems.
Describe the most important photo you’ve seen. Picture(s) of my beloved Scottish grandfather and his family – all long deceased – it still makes me a wee bit raw. How often do you take other people’s advice? A lot these days. It has saved my bacon. Describe a personal hell. White double denim. Potted Heid. Which living person do you most admire? My folks. Wim Wenders. Polly Jean Harvey. On what occasion do you lie? When I am at my weakest. What was the last crime you witnessed? Probably mates nicking goods from a 7/11. What is the best way to educate yourself? Throw yourself in the deep end and drown a little first. What is the next book you want to read? “How to be less awkward” Ultimate camera? A Polaroid that also ejects slices of pizza. Most used camera? I’m still in denial about my iPhone 5, so I’m gonna say a Mamiya 645 (Pro TL) and 80mm 1.9 What object do you want? A faster computer. Mamiya 7II. A sugar daddy. What object do you need? The things I need aren’t objects.
How would you explain the internet to someone from the 1950’s? Where middle aged homebodies control encyclopedias, Pornography is abundant, there are more pictures of cats than there are cats and everyone knows your location at all times. Are you satisfied with your level of physical strength? It certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Describe a cheap thrill. Diazepam and espresso martinis. Pick an historic moment from the last hundred years to bring a camera to. 1949 Pyongyang (early days of Kim Il-Sung’s personality cult). Are impulses more important than consequences? There’s nothing wrong with going with your gut when the consequences are self-inflicted. I would draw the line at consequences which knowingly impact the lives of others negatively. Or on any living thing for that matter. Which talent would you most like to have? Play the spoons. Whistle. Click fingers. Multi-task. What is your plan for the next 24 hours? Enter data 9-5 for beer and travel money.
n: A foreigner, alienated from their natal conditioning by social, cultural and physical difference. As a foreigner in Asia, the intensity of urban life is a confronting experience; social and cultural peculiarities attribute to a sense of displacement. The shift in the customs, the order and the function of society not only make one feel alien; often you are perceived as one in turn. The landscape is largely infiltrated with countless urban constructions – with large masses of people in and around them; going about their daily lives. Eventually, one begins to observe and identify familiarity in the exotic – Patterns in human behaviour and in the social landscape, where one discovers the profound influence of western culture – mass consumption, pop culture and architecture. Outlander is a curious, childlike observation of South Korean society, within the urban landscape. It explores not only the vibrant eccentricities unique to this mono-cultural society, but also the human (and creature) interactions within this setting.
Series Statement by Kate Molenkamp – Outlander.
