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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Five: Stimulating the imagination with “opposites and contradictions” > Layer by layer, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2007
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17-DEC-2007

Layer by layer, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2007

I found this woman asleep on a stone slab in a Hanoi Park. I wanted to go beyond the cliché image so often made of homeless people sleeping in public places. To do so, I moved into a position where I needed to add context by juxtaposing the sleeping subject with someone who was extremely active. I did not have long to wait. The park is a favorite exercise spot, and a runner quickly came into view. I create a series of layers using the tree, bench and sleeping woman to anchor the composition. The ground changes from grass to stone at a second tree. An expanse of stone tile stretches into the background of the image. In the midst of it is a runner. The sleeping woman faces us, while the runner does not. The two figures are complete opposites in activity level, scale, and orientation. I hope this juxtaposition of opposites will trigger the imaginations of those who view this image, and each viewer will make of it what they wish.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/400s f/5.6 at 16.4mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis21-Jan-2008 05:08
A fascinating thought, Patricia. I am delighted that this image hints at it. It is, as you say, full of contradictions, and those are what drew me to it. I generally stay away from pictures that exploit the homeless, but in this case the powerful contrasts build a worthy teaching image.
Patricia Lay-Dorsey21-Jan-2008 03:48
Here I see evidence of the theories of behavior/abehavior that my husband has been working on for years. He postulates that youth is the time of activity or behavior, whereas old age is dedicated to abehavior or stillness. Even though the sleeping woman does not appear to be of advanced age, she is certainly older than the runner...and obviously more sedentary. We also have the contradictions of prone/upright, barefoot/wearing shoes, old world/modern. Not to mention the implied homeless/housed.
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