Swedish/Finnish fine art photographer Kimmo Kauko stumbled into his latest project by accident. Shooting in the petite private cinema of Bangkok's Friese-Greene Club, his model passed in front of the screen as the projector shone images from that evening's movie. Kauko grabbed his camera, freeze-framing the moment of serendipity and capturing the first of a series of photographs which are collected in his latest book Cinema After Dark.
The book, published by Italian house 89books, collects Kauko's often surreal, always sensuous images of his models merging with the action on screen, creating a new and evocative narrative. Sometimes the models are abstractedly fragmented by the movie's light and shade, and other times they appear as extra characters adding a fresh layer of intrigue to the film.
"The Friese-Greene Club is my favourite place in Bangkok," said avid cinephile Kauko, who shot each of the book's photos in the club's nine-seat cinema.
While relying on the club's set film schedule seems artistically haphazard, Kauko does curate the potential background of each photograph. "I like to choose movies I haven't seen before, especially older Hollywood movies from the 1940s," Kauko said. He also follows his own set of rules for the project, using no external lighting, never pausing or rewinding the movie and not photoshopping any of the images. "Light from the projector is the most important factor. I'm chasing the perfect -- or imperfect -- light."
Kauko, who is currently the Creative Art Consultant at Pulse Gallery in Bangkok, will have all the remaining copies of the limited run of 89 books available at the launch event. Signed copies go for 1,800 baht each, including some "surprise gifts".
The Cinema After Dark book launch is at the Friese-Greene Club, Sukhumwit 22, on Dec 16 and 17. Entrance is free. For more details, visit the club's Facebook page.
