Hi, I'm Serichai Traipoom.
I'm a photographer and I work here at SoMad, helping
to direct and produce events that we do and all sorts of creative projects.
I'm definitely inspired by New York City and all sorts of communities
that there are here to offer working fashion.
There's a lot of creative people that really believe in the art of it.
I also worked in nightlife for a long time, and just seeing the creativity
behind club kids and the community of queer culture,
all of these things really inspire me in my practice as an artist and,
you know, as a community builder here at SoMad.
my favorite part is the experience.
I think that there's a real interaction between me and the subject, and
I really like to have a small moment of connection and feel like there's
actually a moment being captured
rather than just thinking about just a straight portrait.
I feel like, you know, I like to direct a little bit and I also like just
the moments of engagement that happen, you know, before and after the photos.
A lot of times
I can't lie: Prada, Prada, Prada.
I really loved shooting backstage at all the Prada shows.
It's a complete chaotic scene where they let
about ten photographers in about 7 minutes before the show starts.
And it's a free for all.
You just kind of run around and shoot everyone.
Everything looks incredible.
The space looks different every time.
One time it was all sound pads.
One time it was a whole set.
There's just something about you know, that dynamic that's really great.
But then I've also really enjoyed shooting nightlife and a lot of queer spaces.
Obviously, drag is incredible.
The really inspired fashion and beauty
and just unique creativity.
I think a big thing for me
is just treating everyone equally and whether it's a really high profile,
exclusive job or it's a club kid
in the clubs or somebody on the street during a protest, I think that, you know,
capturing that interaction with that person is just as valuable
to me across the board.
And a lot of times the ones that are not the high paid,
not the high profile jobs are actually much more interesting
because there's more of a conversation that happens with the person.
I feel like they
to be able to highlight,
not what you see in the mainstream everyday is more
my style.
Yeah, that was a real big turning point for me.
It actually came from working
with W magazine, who had worked with for Fashion Week for many years,
and when the protests started happening, I felt really compelled
to just go out and participate.
And I knew that photography was a tool that I had that I could contribute
and reached out to my editor there.
And they loved the idea of running these protests.
And then I pushed it a little further and I was like, Let's do interviews.
And they really trusted me to just go and speak to the people.
And the beautiful thing was they would run whatever I was giving them
and they wouldn't censor what people were saying and they would
give the full picture of what the people in the streets were saying.
And so that was a really transformative experience
where it went beyond just being a photograph.
But being able to put a little weight behind that person.
And also, I feel like
when you have a really intimate portrait paired with a deeper story,
especially in, you know, terms of the uprisings of 2020, it was just
really gratifying and really reified photography for me
on a new level.
It's funny,
the transformative
power of art, I think really I learned a little bit in grad school
and mostly here through our work here at SoMad really just working
with a lot of people that come from complete different backgrounds and taking,
you know, high level of technical professional production experience
and putting them in these environments and creating a space where they feel
safe and heard and validated and, you know, being able
to provide that for them has really just shown me like the power of art.
And on top of that, you know, we're a very small team here working at SoMad.
And so when I think about sustainability, you know, there's obviously
environmental impact and,
you know, trying to work with a local and all of these things.
But a big thing for me, you know, personally within the last year
that's been transformative is thinking about sustainability of,
you know, myself and my time and my creative abilities and also holding
that with who I'm working with and all of the people were having coming in
and being really respectful of the fact that, you know,
people come from different places and are at different levels.
And a lot of the work that we do here is very emotion
based and is very identity based, and they're very real subjects.
And so being able to take the time to give everyone the time and,
you know, create a space that's a free place to speak and,
you know, also allow for conversations to form
beyond just what's happening on the camera or what's happening in the space.
And another aspect of sustainability that SoMad has
really taught me is the true power of collaboration.
And coming into a situation where there's a group of people
working their hardest to build something together
and not assuming that there's this hierarchical
one vision of how things end up, most of our projects
just kind of evolve through the interaction and, you know,
that is not an easy lesson to learn when you come from a very commercial,
here's your deliverable, here's your set, here's your,
you know, roll this, that, that like to break that
and to let things be a little more freeform and listen
deeply listened to everyone on site and make sure that everyone feels
that they have the option to contribute.
Idea has produced the most beautiful work.
I am SoMad that I had to wear this hat because I don't wear hats, but
green screen
green hair doesn't make for the best.