“The Space Between Us is a journey of my life and the men I have encountered. Some are intimate. Some are casual. Some are memorable. And some I wish never happened.”
Ohm Phanphiroj, award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and educator, said about his work.
In The Space Between Us, Ohm explores themes including male prostitutes, sexuality, gender roles, and the male nude. The photos in his book are more than photos because each carries a story. A story that exists in the mind of the creator, yet not the only one.
The artist talks about the many ways in which life unfolds
“A man without a scar is a man without a journey. And a man who has a journey always has a story to tell. Around us, there are millions of stories waiting to be shared, if asked. Every day in my life, however random or boring it seems, is a story. It’s a story of a man who is complex, mysterious, misunderstood, broken, insecure, longing, and sad. And the opposite is also true.”
The Space Between us emphasizes drama, human interactions, desire and lust
“The world is full of dramas. Dramas about love, relationship, and heartbreak created as part of our journey—so we can claim that we have lived. It has been eight years since my last book, Nighthawks. During this silence, I have continued my journeys, creating moments about love, lust, and desire. All of which are an illusion, but no regrets. Something so strange about human interactions is that the more we try to get close to someone, the more distance there is in between. Even stranger, sometimes, the more we try to distance ourself, the closer we feel, the more desire.”
Ultimately, the album explores gay love, the need to cover the distance between one another
“Each image in the book offers more than a thousand words. It’s real yet imaginative; physical yet intangible; soothing and painful all at once. I want the images to transport you to the place we all identify with and share universally, in hope of closing the gap in the physical space we have between us and the boys we love, lust and long for…for life is desire…..”
Ohm Phanphiroj was born in Bangkok, currently a U.S. citizen, travelling arounbd the world to expand his horizons. You can see his work at Kinsey Institute, Emory University, Lightwork, and Newspace Center for Photography.
