Ben Hopkins meets Boaz Zippor – a fine art photographer whose work has been capturing the attention of collectors around the world

As a relative newcomer to photography as an art form, Israeli born Boaz Zippor’s latest body of work reveals an accomplished grasp of light and shadow upon the human form.

“All of my latest work was taken in this room” he says as I step inside a studio adjoining a small courtyard at the back of his house in Bangkok’s Saphan Kwai. The studio environment allows Boaz to gain complete control over the blend of light and shadow that falls upon his subjects. Luminescent flesh tones and vibrant cloth appear from dark shadows, bringing to mind the works of Baroque masters such as Vermeer while images depicting bodies contorted add a theatrical element.

The models, some young, others aging and lined appear detached from the camera, stripped of clothing and mostly draped in material so as not to be trapped in a time zone or fashion genre.

“All of my models volunteer to be photographed” Boaz says as he sits me down in his studio, angles a couple of lights in my direction and starts snapping away.

“Sometimes they begin taking their clothes off as soon as they come into the room. I tell them no, it’s not about that” he laughs before adding. “My aim is to capture their character. A fashion photographer can make most people look almost perfect by photo-shopping celluloid and wrinkles, but then you have nothing left of their personality.”

A closer look at Boaz’ portraits reveal facial lines that speak of character and expressions that capture the subject off guard or in their own world.

“It takes at least an hour before the model begins to relax and I get the pictures I want” he says, before letting me in on a tip.

“The famous Richard Avedon had a clever way of capturing expressions. He’d arrive late to a shoot and say to the person he’s photographing. ‘Sorry I’m late, I thought I ran over a cat on the way’ allowing him to capture a spontaneous expression of alarm. Then he’ll say, ‘but it turned out to be just a nylon bag’ and this time the click caught the expression of relief.”

Seeing as I didn’t ask to be photographed the initial reaction reflected in my expression is ‘what the hell is he doing?’ However, after twenty minutes of asking questions about what led him to settle in Bangkok I’m no longer uncomfortable with being snapped.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1972 to an architect father and painter mother it was upon completing four years of military service that Boaz decided he had to get, in his own words, “as far away from Israel as I could.” At the time that meant New York. However, it was his seven year stint in Milan that bore fruit and opened the world up. First studying and then developing a Multimedia and Online Marketing Company saw Boaz surf the wave of the .com boom.

For someone enjoying success Milan must have been a great place to live during the late nineties. “You know, the Italians and Thais are very similar. They both love great food, they are both the nicest people and they both like to take life easy.”

After seven years the boom petered out and in 2002 he returned to Tel Aviv. “Back in Tel Aviv I worked freelance” he says as I blink into a multiple flash from his camera “and to an Israeli mother that means unemployed.”

Plainly, after less than one year back in Tel Aviv Boaz was keen to travel again. “Israel is a great place to visit” he says. “But really you wouldn’t want to live there.”

For Boaz, the move to Bangkok was triggered one morning in 2003. “My mother would keep sending me clippings of job adverts. I wasn’t interested in any of them. Then one day she showed me a full page of job adverts, none of them interested me except one small advert in the bottom corner.”

The advert was for Art Director in an international jewelry company based in Bangkok. Big, fat, garish jewelry is how he describes it but the job was a ticket for Bangkok and today he has no regrets – despite a stint with California WOW.

His house in Bangkok’s Saphan Kwai, which he shares with his Thai wife Toto, herself an accomplished and critically acclaimed painter – “She’s the real artist” he says, “I just take photos” – contains a fine-art-photography gallery, a studio and spacious living quarters. “Imagine getting this in Italy, it’d be impossible, let alone New York or Tel Aviv.”

It’s a good point, and may explain why so many photographers, writers and painters choose Bangkok as a base to pursue their career.  “Last year I flew to Hong Kong to do some commercial shoot. Got paid 17,000 USD and returned two days later home to Bangkok. That money lasted a very long time here, and gave me the freedom to work on my art for several months. In Milan, Tel Aviv or New York it would be gone in no time at all.”

So no plans to move on? “No, everything I need is here in this house.”

To see more of  Boaz’ work follow the info below

R E F L E C T I O N S

P H O T O G R A P H Y  E X H I B I T I O N

BOAZ ZIPPOR  /  BOKA GALLERY

31 OCTOBER 17:00

34  INTHAMARA  SOI  1 Sapan – kwai

+ 89 66 27 923    + 851 60 40 32

site :    www.boazzippor.net/boka

map :   www.boazzippor.net/map

email : boaz@boazzippor.net