‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’
By Ian Tee

Hello and welcome to ‘Ian’s Research Club’, I am your host, Ian Tee. Today my guest is someone readers of Art & Market may be familiar with. She is none other than my colleague Woong Soak Teng. Soak’s practice is in the intersections of art making, producing, and project managing. Her personal projects examine human tendencies to control natural phenomena and nature at large. Current research interests include the human experience of living with spinal deformity and the role of image-making and representations of human bodies in the medical field. She also forms one-third of the art collective, DASSAD.

In this episode, we take an in-depth look into Soak’s recent project ‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’. It is the subject of her first solo exhibition at Objectifs – Centre for Photography, as well as an artist book published by THEBOOKSHOW. She speaks about her relationship with scoliosis, the collaborative process behind this project and what the medium of the photobook offers to her practice.

Click here to listen on Soundcloud. You can also find the podcast by searching “Ian’s Research Club” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

artandmarket · Ian's Research Club 07: Woong Soak Teng

A snapshot of foam bodies in an orthotist’s workspace. Image courtesy of Woong Soak Teng.

A digital spread from the photobook ‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’, pages 52 and 53. Image courtesy of Woong Soak Teng.

A spread from the photobook ‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’, published by THEBOOKSHOW and designed by Macarius Eng. Image courtesy of Macarius Eng.

Woong Soak Teng, ‘Ways to Tie Trees’, 2015-18. Image courtesy of the artist.

Woong Soak Teng, ‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’, 2022, exhibition installation view at Objectifs – Centre for Photography. Image courtesy of the artist.

Documentation of the photobook ‘rules for photographing a scoliotic patient’, published by THEBOOKSHOW and designed by Macarius Eng. Image courtesy of Macarius Eng.

‘Rules for Photographing a Scoliotic Patient’ was presented at Objectifs Lower Gallery, Singapore, from 26 April to 19 June 2022. For more information on THEBOOKSHOW, click here.

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