HESSE, Katharina - Human Negotiations

"'Human Negotiations' is an independent, self-funded collaboration between documentary photographer Katharina HESSE and writer Lara Day, exploring the lives of a community of Bangkok sex workers through both images and text.
The project came into being in 2007, when Katharina HESSE and Lara Day met during a photography workshop. Over the course of three years, the pair have returned to Bangkok's red-light districts repeatedly to interview and photograph more than two dozen women.
'Human Negotiations' is not a journalistic account of the sex trade, but instead a personal interpretation of a line of work that is frequently misunderstood. Leaving aside stereotypes of exploited, downtrodden Third World females coerced into a profession
in which they are passive victims, the project reveals a more nuanced, open-ended world where women take center stage, and where reality's complexities leave room for wider interpretations.

Documentary photographs and fictional vignettes based on personal interviews focus on subjects who have not been coerced into their jobs, but who choose to work in the sex industry as a means towards a better life: a mother supporting a child, a ladyboy saving up for cosmetic surgery,
a girl from the countryside looking to strike it rich in the big city, a woman living the lifestyle to enable her own freedom and independence." (© Katharina HESSE)

To date, the project has garnered international support and been shown at numerous spaces and festivals including the inaugural Arles in Beijing / Caochangdi Photospring, China (2010), the 8th Art Festival Aleppo, Syria (2010), City of Women: 16. Intern. Festival of Contemporary Arts, Slovenia (2010),
 Noorderlicht Foto Festival, Netherlands (2009), 'Summer of Love' , Noorderlicht group exhibition 2009 and Chobi Mela V, Bangladesh (2009).
It has also been featured in the pages of photography collector magazines such as EYEmazing and ODP 25 (June 2011), as well as online on E-photoreview.com.

"For our Chinese backers : 《人间世》是一个自筹资金的独立合作项目，由摄影家卡特琳娜·黑斯、作家拉拉·戴共同合作，通过图像与文本，探索了曼谷工作者群体的生活。
该项目始于2007年，黑斯与戴在一个摄影工作坊上相识。三年多的时间里，两人多次前往曼谷红灯区，与几十位女性交谈，并拍摄她们。
《人间世》并非对性交易的新闻报道，而是个人对这个常常被误解的行业所做的诠释。该项目一反受欺压、被蹂躏的第三世界女性被迫从事称为被动牺牲品的职业这种老套成见，而是揭示了更加微妙、更加自由开放的世界，女性在其中占据着舞台中央，现实的复杂性又为更广泛的阐释留下了空间。
报道摄影作品以及虚构的文字小品都是基于个人访谈，围绕着那些并非被迫从事这一工作的人物，她们选择在色情行业工作，视之为通向更幸福生活的手段：一位抚养孩子的母亲，一位为美容手术攒钱的变性人，从乡下来大城市发财的姑娘，一位过着能让自己独立自由的生活的女人。
截至目前为止，该项目获得了国际上的广泛支持，并在许多空间和艺术节上展出，包括一年一度的“中国草场地摄影季：阿尔勒在北京”（2010年）、第八届叙利亚阿勒颇艺术节（2010年）、女性之城：第十六届斯洛文尼亚国际当代艺术节（2010年）、荷兰诺德里赫特摄影节（2009年）、
“爱之夏”诺德里赫特群展（2009年）以及第五届孟加拉摄影节（2009年）。它还刊登在各种摄影期刊上，如荷兰《EYEmazing》杂志、西班牙ODP 25（2011年6月）以及意大利的E-photoreview.com。
筹集的资金将直接用于《人间世》一书的印刷费用，该书是与中国国内最主要的当代摄影与录像艺术空间——三影堂摄影艺术中心合作出版。展览将成为一件大型多媒体作品，配以日本著名音乐人阪本龙一的音乐作品。
《人间世》，三影堂摄影艺术中心，精装本，15”x11” (40x 30厘米) , ISBN 978-988-99667-9-9，中英文双语，130页"