We Will Have Been Young

The exhibition ‘we will have been young’displays the work of twelve young photographers from eight South-East Asian countries. In summer of 2016, these photographers met for a workshop in Penang, Malaysia, mentored by the German photographers Jörg Brüggemann and Tobias Kruse of the photographers’ agency Ostkreuz.

The masterclass was designed as a long-term project aiming to enable young photographers from the region to work on important topics and series. The project turned out to be a holistic growth experience for the twelve participating photographers an enriching experience for the mentoring photographers. The participants of this regional project represent: Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Through workshops during the Obscura Festival and intensive exchange between the participating and the mentoring photographers, twelve photo series on youth and future in Southeast Asia were planned and realized.

The result is a socio-cultural kaleidoscope on the life of young people in the vibrant context of economic progress and globalization in these South-East Asian countries. The visual stories deal with diverse and range from online dating and relationships over mental health and illness to identity, creativity and the question of belonging.

Each of the series uses a unique approach to the topics and give an insight into different aspects of being young as well as their own personal engagement with the topic.

The young photograph Watsome Tri-yaksakda with his series ‘7465’ represents Thailand in this masterclass. In his photos, he is questioning why everyone asks the youth “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, but nobody ever ask “What do you want to be now?”. The number 7465 represents the hidden identity of youth that has their expressions repressed and the fight for their own identity.