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Category Archives: Uncategorized

Breakfast at 8 Jungle at 9 Exhibition

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August 14, 2015

/ ernsphy

2015_004_Breakfast8Jungle9-0608A Photography Exhibition & Installation by Ernest Goh

Objectifs Gallery, 10 June – 19 July 2015

Breakfast at 8 Jungle at 9 is an installation that engages with the public through an interactive sticker-pasting process to ‘wrap’ the world in nature which utilise repetitive motifs from the natural environment to propagate the his eco-utopian vision of the world. While at first glance a nod to scientific photography and the detailed study of specimens, Ernest encourages the viewer to appreciate these insects, butterflies, flowers and birds through a lens of wonderment and fascination.

The show draws its title from a letter written by famed naturalist and explorer Alfred Russell Wallace. Wallace spent eight years in the Malay Archipelago studying its flora and fauna, and collected more than 125,000 specimens of insects, birds and mammals including hundreds of new species. His persistence led him to realize the theory of natural selection, for which Charles Darwin and him are jointly credited with discovering. In this letter to his mother in 1854, he shared his daily work schedule when he was in Singapore:

I will tell you how my day is now occupied. Get up at half past five. Bath and coffee. Sit down to arrange and put away my insects of the day before, and set them safe out to dry. Charles mending nets, filling pincushions, and getting ready for the day. Breakfast at eight. Out to the jungle at nine. We have to walk up a steep hill to get to it, and always arrive dripping with perspiration. Then we wanted about till two or three, generally returning with about 50 or 60 beetles, some very rare and beautiful. Bathe, change clothes, and sit down to kill and pin insects. Charles ditto with flies, bugs and wasps; I do not trust him yet with beetles. Dinner at four. Then to work again till six. Coffee. Read. If very numerous, work at insects till eight or nine. Then to bed.

———–

“The central element of the exhibition, the interactive installation Time to Wrap Up, provides an opportunity for the viewer to respond to Goh’s meditations on repetition, re-ordering and the exquisite strangeness of the insect or animal form. The artist presents a hodgepodge of objects, most of them everyday items from modern life: a table and chairs, a supermarket trolley, a piano, a vehicle, models of animals, icons of East Asian culture, and other items. In a deliberate homage to Yayoi Kusama’sObliteration Room (2002), all the objects have been wrapped completely in white, and visitors are given sheets of stickers – bearing animal motifs from The Gift Book and Breakfast at 8 Jungle at 9 – which they can stick anywhere on the white objects.

Like Kusama’s work, Time to Wrap Up invites the visitor to create an environment that reflects the artist’s vision – in Goh’s case, a world that is wrapped up or covered in nature. Given the objects he has chosen for the installation, Goh is extending the assertion that nature is not merely a decorative layer, but a claim upon the landscape. We would like to believe that the things of humankind are eternal, but nature eventually overruns all man-made structures and institutions, as well as animals and plants, be it in the rapid surge of a tsunami or the infinitesimal path worn by an insect creeping up from the ground.

The act of placing stickers onto the white canvas of the objects also implicates visitors in the act of creatively ordering the natural world. What does it mean to wrap, or re-wrap, the world in nature? Perhaps it prompts a degree of care and reverence, even protectiveness – but there is also the potential for liberation, a child-like exultation and fun, until the object is finally plastered over and obscured.”

– Excerpt from exhibition text by Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, 18 May 2015.

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Sticker creations by the public. IMG_2903IMG_2904IMG_2908IMG_2916IMG_2920IMG_2923IMG_3346

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Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

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May 25, 2015

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Lobby wall mural artwork commission for the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum Singapore. The museum’s new building opened its doors to the public in 28 April 2015.lck_mural_001lck_mural_008lck_mural_009 lck_mural_003 lck_mural_004 lck_mural_005 lck_mural_007    lck_mural_011

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Goating Around at Hay Dairies Singapore

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February 11, 2015

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We had mmmmeeeeeeh-vellous shoot at Hay Dairies Pte Ltd Singapore’s only goat farm.

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IKEA Chinese New Year Campaign 2015

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February 1, 2015

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IKEA Chinese New Year of the Goat shoot.

Agency: BBH

Photo Team: Wong Ming Fei, Marina Sinitsyna, Zinkie Aw, Ernest Goh

Location: Malaysia

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Goat whisperer at work.

 

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“You think we get to keep this sofa Billy?”

 

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All eyes were on the kids.

 

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The inevitable happens.

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The Gift Book Launch

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December 2, 2014

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The Gift Book was launched on 2 December 2014 at the National Museum of Singapore. Along with the book, wrapping paper were handed out with every purchase of the book to coincide with the Christmas period. The Gift Book is part of Singapore photography collective PLATFORM’s TwentyFifteen Project.

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Chicago TV WGN9

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April 29, 2014

/ ernsphy

Chicago TV news channel WGN9 featured the COCKS book and the short film made by filmmakers AnotherBeautifulStory on their Morning News segment. Video here! http://goo.gl/Zd5X1k

WGN9 news Apr 22 2014

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TIONG BAHRU ANIMAL WALL Pt.02

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April 19, 2014

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Wheatpasting giant animals in Tiong Bahru Estate in Singapore.

Win a copy of Ernest’s COCKS book by uploading a creative photo or selfie on FACEBOOK and hashtag #ernestgohanimalwall #tiongbahrufestival. Top 3 photos with the most LIKES wins!

Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru Community Arts and Culture Committee, with the support of the Seng Poh Residents Committee, is pleased to present Ernest’s murals as part of the 2014 Tiong Bahru Heritage Fiesta. The animals selected for the 5 murals remind us of the local
pets that were common in Tiong Bahru in the old days. We hope that they bring back good memories of your childhood!

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TIONG BAHRU ANIMAL WALL Pt.01

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April 19, 2014

/ ernsphy

Wheatpasting giant animals in Tiong Bahru Estate in Singapore.

Win a copy of Ernest’s COCKS book by uploading a creative photo or selfie on FACEBOOK and hashtag #ernestgohanimalwall #tiongbahrufestival. Top 3 photos with the most LIKES wins!

Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru Community Arts and Culture Committee, with the support of the Seng Poh Residents Committee, is pleased to present Ernest’s murals as part of the 2014 Tiong Bahru Heritage Fiesta. The animals selected for the 5 murals remind us of the local
pets that were common in Tiong Bahru in the old days. We hope that they bring back good memories of your childhood!

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WHO ARE YOU CALLING CHICKEN? – The Observer UK

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April 10, 2014

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Capture

The COCKS book showcased in The Observer UK.

The Observer | 06.04.14 | 

These chickens certainly know how to strut their stuff, displaying ornate plumage as they strike bizarre and impressive poses. But these are only recent traits that have been selectively bred by humans within the last 50 years. Chickens are thought to have been domesticated around 7,000 years ago in south-east Asia. It was Charles Darwin who first suggested the red jungle fowl as the wild progenitor, but some experts now think there may have been multiple domestication events with differing species of wild fowl. The original purpose for domestication is thought to have been for the spectator sport of chicken fighting rather than cooking. It wasn’t until the Egyptians got their hands on them around 4,000 years ago that chickens started to become a food source, but they were still revered and mainly used for fighting. The Romans believed that chickens were in direct communication with Fate, and battles were often fought on a cock’s prophecy. This didn’t not stop them seeing chicken as a delicacy (or from inventing the omelette). Only in recent times have chickens become a major protein staple; 50bn are now raised annually.

It was a different side of the birds that intrigued Singaporean photographer Ernest Goh. While travelling in Malaysia, he discovered Ayam Serama chickens, and the unusual world of chicken beauty pageants. He explains: “Ayam Seramas are actually a type of ornamental chicken, so they are bred not for consumption, but purely for ornamental reasons.” Every week there is at least one  pageant in Malaysia, where birds are judged not just on how they look, but also on how they walk. While Goh’s photos in Cocks: The Chicken Book look staged or forced, he is simply photographing them as they move about naturally. They’re the original funky chickens.

– Josh Davis

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CNN Photo Blog Feature

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April 10, 2014

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Charismatic chickens strut their stuff

Think you know chickens? Ernest Goh wants you to take another look.

The photographer was struck by the birds’ natural charisma when he recently took portraits of them in Malaysia.

“If you look really closely or you just take more time to observe the chickens, you can see human qualities surface: temperament, facial expressions,” Goh said.

Many of these chickens are actually pageant contestants, raised as pets and entered into competitions across different villages in Malaysia. Judges inspect each chicken and choose winners based on their physical assets but also their strut and their showmanship.

And these birds can definitely show off.

“When they went on the stage, they looked like runway models,” Goh recalls. “Once they know they’re on stage, they automatically perform in a way. They puff up their chests, strut a little bit more. They’re not trained to do this by their farmers. I think it might be something engrained in their DNA.”

Perhaps the most popular breed in Malaysia is the Serama. It’s the smallest breed of chicken in the world, but it packs plenty of personality. Goh says that personality comes out in the portraits.

“I’ve had people say, ‘Wow, they actually have expressions,’ ” he said. “People perceive them as something different. They see them as something more emotional, an animal with a soul.”

The Serama, with its oversized breast, large plumage and bright red comb at the top of its head, was named after Rama, the title of kings in Thailand. It has become especially popular in the past decade, Goh said, and Serama breeding clubs have even emerged in the United States and European countries.

But the breed originated in Malaysia, through the crossbreeding of Japanese and Malaysian bantams, and it has almost become a new icon for the country, Goh said.

After watching the brilliantly colored birds perform in beauty contests, Goh asked farmers if they would bring the birds in for a photo shoot.

When the farmers showed up, Goh put a black background behind the birds and just waited.

“It was like shooting a human model,” Goh said. “The only difference is they don’t take direction.”

Goh hopes the project will make people think twice about what they think of chickens and of animals in general.

“It’s just to give another chance at looking at these animals again,” he said. “They are more special than we might think. They’re not as ordinary as we might think.”

– Kyle Almond, CNN

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COCKS Book – Media Release

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April 2, 2014

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ABOUT THE SERIES – COCKS
“Like La Fontaine, who in his Fables describes animals in order to more clearly evoke human beings, here, Ernest shows us portraits of the proud, the vain, the timid and the gentle, the temperamental, the peaceful and the lazy.” – Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Curator of photography 2013

Ernest Goh’s latest photographic series explores the close relationship between animals and their human masters. Humans tend to anthropomorphize their pets considering them as members of the family and projecting human-like characteristics onto them. In his “Cocks” series, Goh has vividly captured these characteristics through his realist portraits of ornamental chickens known as Serama chickens bred for competition by many in Malaysia.

These chickens are prized for their built, size, behaviour and showmanship and compete in ‘beauty pageants’ held in villages throughout Malaysia. Judged on their stance, temperament and quality of their wing, comb and tail, owners of Seramas proudly regard their chickens as warriors or soldiers, ready for battle. Goh’s portraits in colour show these chickens at their best – displaying strength, beauty, grace and sometimes, even arrogance. They portray these proud animals in almost human-like poses, which are struck by the chickens without any prompting from their owners. The stark black background of his portraits keeps the eye focused on the splendour of the chickens who stand ready to show off their rich plumes of different hues. Goh’s beautifully composed photographs have succeeded in bringing out the majestic nature of these animals often sadly dismissed as mere livestock. Where his photography has been most effective is in showing them as creatures with individual personalities and attributes, giving them each a voice even if they are not able to speak.

“As a photographer, I am always interested in photographing the human condition. But this human condition does not exist in a vacuum as we share the natural world with animals. My interest in photographing animals is a natural extension of my interest in the human condition, because we are all inextricably linked to each other. We cannot exist without the other. I hope that  “Cocks” and my other animal series can in some way encourage us to reflect upon our relationship with animals,” says Ernest Goh about his series of animal portraits.

Ernest Goh first documented the relationship between humans and animals in “The Fish Book” (Wee Editions 2011) in which he photographed ornamental fishes bred as pets by many Singaporeans. The “Cocks” series is the second part of a larger project entitled The Animal Book (TAB) project that Ernest Goh is working on now which centres around the relationship between humans and animals.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ernest started his career as a newspaper photographer for The Straits Times, Singapore’s national daily. As an independent photographer, Ernest freelanced for wire photo agencies such the Agence France-Presse and took on assignments for international publications such as The Smithsonian and Monocle magazine. His interest in storytelling led him to create photo stories and books for various non-profit organisations. They include Beyond Mask, a book published in honour of the medical workers who sacrificed their lives at the height of the SARS outbreak in Asia and Altered Land, a 4-year long documentation of the 2004 Tsunami aftermath in Aceh, Indonesia.

Ernest’s current work focuses on animals and their relationship with humans. He holds an MA from Goldsmiths College and was awarded the inaugural Incentivising Innovation Fund by the Institute of Contemporary Arts’ A-Frame Network, an initiative of the UK government’s Cultural Leadership Programme in 2009. In 2012 he was awarded the Discernment Award at the ICON de Martell Cordon Bleu Photography Prize in Singapore.

 

BOOK SPECIFICATIONS

SUMMARY: Reared and groomed by dedicated owners for participation in pageants, ornamental chickens, including the impressive Malaysian breed of Ayam Serama, project a natural and seemingly effortless charisma rivalling that of human models. Ernest Goh’s award-winning portraits capture the full range of these beautiful birds’ personalities: puffed chests, ruffled plumage, bowed heads and all. By turns provocative, humorous and surprising, the photographs in Cocks will move you to view our humble feathered friends in an entirely different light.

INTRODUCTION BY: Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Curator of photography. Inspector General for Photography at Minsitère of Culture and Communication, and artistic director of the Rencontres d’Arles in 1990.

ISBN: 978-981-07-5626-0

SIZE: Hardcover 125 x 175mm 96pp

 

IMAGES FOR RELEASE

(Please contact ernsphy@gmail.com for publication of images)

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The New Yorker, The Huff Post and The Weather Channel

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March 31, 2014

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thenewyorker 04 2014

 

MARCH 31, 2014

SLIDE SHOW: ROOSTER PAGEANTS
POSTED BY THE NEW YORKER

In Malaysia, a type of chicken called the Serama is bred not for consumption but for its performance abilities and look. Chicken pageants are held in villages across the country; like at dog shows, owners bring their animals and display them for minutes at a time while judges rank them according to their feathers, strut, and disposition.

Ernest Goh, a thirty-five-year-old photographer from Singapore, first encountered these competitions when traveling across Malaysia in 2013. Goh, who is interested in how humans perceive animals, set up a photo studio on location, and began photographing the chickens with the intent of discovering, as he writes in a statement about the work, “whothey were, not what they were.” Goh met with chicken enthusiasts and breeders, who, as Goh describes, “often regard the chickens as warriors ready for battle.” He acknowledged that it is a “strange image you’d want to project onto a chicken,” but, after photographing the Seramas, he understood. “From the perspective of the photographer, the Serama seems more like a runway model!” he writes.

Above is a selection of Goh’s photographs of the Serama and other breeds from his most recent book, “Cocks.”

All photographs by Ernest Goh.

 

huffpost 03 2014

Photographer Explores The Surprising World Of Chicken Beauty Pageants
The Huffington Post  | by  Priscilla Frank
When we think of animals living the fast-paced, vain and competitive existence that accompanies the pageant lifestyle, we normally think of over-fluffed dogs or highly accessorized ponies, animals that exude a natural strength, dignity and poise. Chickens? Not so much.

But a smile-inducing and surprisingly hypnotic photo series entitled “Cocks: The Chicken Book” is putting all our chicken-based assumptions to shame. Shot by Singapore-based photographer Ernest Goh, the series focuses on Ayam Serama chickens, an ornamental breed of bird cherished for their build, poise and showmanship. In Malaysia, these particularly classy chickens compete in beauty pageants where they are judged on looks and attitude, from the quality of their stance to the bravado of their wing and comb.

“I chanced upon the chicken beauty pageants while on another photo expedition to a farm in Malaysia,” Goh wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “But when I arrived at the farm I found that the farmer had retired and sold the business and was not around. I managed to track him down and found him grooming his chickens at a chicken beauty contest. That was when I discovered this little known culture.

“As a photographer, I am always interested in photographing the human condition,” Goh writes in his statement. “But this human condition does not exist in a vacuum as we share the natural world with animals. My interest in photographing animals is a natural extension of my interest in the human condition, because we are all inextricably linked to each other. We cannot exist without the other.”

Even if, like us, you were previously living unaware of the existence of chicken beauty pageants and the bizarre wonders they hold, it’s not hard to identify a human spirit inside Goh’s winged subjects. Through the ruffled plumage and puffed chests, you can almost make out a perturbed and pompous little human underneath.

As enjoyable as it is to anthropomorphize Goh’s feathery friends, it’s just as enticing to admire the otherworldly creatures in all their alien glory, accepting their neon beaks and webbed claws on their own, utterly other, terms. See the prize-worthy creatures here and check outGoh’s Facebook to learn more. Bonus: you can take a peek at how the peculiar chicken pageant competitors live day-to-day in the video below.

weathercom

A Beauty Pageant for Chickens (PHOTOS)

By Camille Mann weather.com

Farm animals and fish were photographer Ernest Goh’s playthings growing up in his grandmother’s rural village in Singapore in the 1980s. Now, he has put to use that experience as his inspiration for two groups of photos, one of chickens, the other of fish, both portrait-style.

“Time [in the rural village] was spent either running after chickens on the front porch or by the stream catching fish and frogs for my collection,” he explained to weather.com. His two series “The Fish Book” and “Cocks” were his way of “recollecting those memories.”

(MORE: Stunning Bird Portraits from Around the World)

Goh happened upon the world of chicken beauty pageants while he was on a trip in Malaysia for a shoot. When he arrived at the farm, the farmer had retired and sold the business. Once he finally tracked down the man, Goh found the him grooming his chickens for a beauty contest. “That was when I discovered this little known culture,” he said.

The photographer then began to seek out chicken contests, where he would invite the chicken owners to bring their fowl into his portrait studio — which brings a lot of puzzled looks from bystanders. But, getting the chickens to cooperate is Goh’s major concern.

“As with any animal photography one tries to anticipate what the animal will do next so as to be ready to photograph a good moment,” he said. “But with chickens it’s really tough to figure out what they will do next!”

The slideshow above features images from both of Goh’s collections. To see more of Goh’s work visit his website or Facebook page.

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COCKS – A Short Film

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March 26, 2014

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A short film collaboration between Ernest Goh and Another Beautiful Story – a team of talented filmmakers who showcases stories about artists, artisans and craftspeople in Singapore.

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COLOSSAL and Photography Cool

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March 25, 2014

/ ernsphy
The Bizarre World of Chicken Beauty Pageants Photographed

March 25, 2014

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Photographer and visual artist Ernest Goh is known for his work photographing wildlife and other animals. His latest book documents the strange world of chicken beauty pageants in Malaysia where he encountered a breed of bird called the Ayam Seramas, an ornate chicken raised not for its meat but purely for its appearance. These chickens not only have decorative plumage but possess the ability to strike ridiculous poses. You might think these photos are somehow manipulated (or worse, the animals forced into these positions) but a behind-the-scenes video by Goh shows the chicken’s ability to strut just as depicted. The book, titled Cocks: The Chicken Book, is available now through his website. All photos courtesy the artist. (via Peta Pixel)

 

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Awesome Chicken Portraits
BY PHOTOGRAPHY COOL ON MARCH 21, 2014

The title alone is sure to double our readership over night !!!!!!

These stunning images are suitable for work though and come from a book entitled Cocks: The Chicken Book. I think the chicken book part was added purely to avoid any confusion. Getting serious for a moment though Singapore Photographer Ernest Goh has been photographing Chicken Beauty Pageants. This is the newest project for Goh who is widely acclaimed for his previous photographs of animals, most famously his series on fish.

This series of images follows the Ayam Seramas bred of chicken as it is known for its incredible beauty within the chicken circles. In the book he follows the journey from egg hatching all the way through to pageants. The photos really show the characteristics and personalities of the birds in a serious but also humorous way. We think they are absolutely brilliant. Goh has a shop via his website where you can purchase prints and books.

Some of Gohs other works include Altered Land, a documentation of the aftermath and recovery of Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 South-Asian Tsunami; Beyond Mask, a book documenting the situation inside Singapore’s largest hospital at the height of the SARS outbreak in Asia. He is also the creative director of The Animal Book Co; an outfit that works with animal welfare groups through photography.

You can check out his website and more of his work by clucking …. I mean clicking ….. here.

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An ‘im-peck-able’ post by PETAPIXEL

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March 20, 2014

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petapixel

Incredible Portraits of Ornate Fowl Found at Chicken Beauty Pageant

Gannon Burgett · Mar 20, 2014

Singapore-based photographer Ernest Goh, known best for his incredible work with animals, has just recently put another book out. This time, he’s documenting the world of Chicken Beauty Pageants. Yes, Chicken Beauty Pageants. They exist… I guess.

Titled Cocks: The Chicken Book (you have no idea how difficult it is not to make jokes at this point…) this collection of work explores the beauty of some of the most debonaire fowl you have ever seen.

In order to make sure he photographed only the most beautiful chickens, Goh sought out Ayam Seramas: a specific type of chicken known and in fact bred for their ornate beauty. In his series, Goh captures the entire journey of these beautiful creatures — from the time of the chicks hatching to their entry into these pageants.

As you can see in some of the images below, it’s quite im-peck-able how much character and pride these creatures can give off when a photographer has enough patience to work with them:

If you think these images are somehow staged or not real — and we’ll give you this, some of these look downright crazy — check out the behind-the-scenes video below for proof of these chickens’ insane strutting ability. They really do look every bit as proud and… if you’ll pardon at least one pun… cocky in real life.

Cocks: The Chicken Book is up for sale on Goh’s website if you’d like to take a closer look. Just be be prepared to deal with some awkward and hilarious looks when you tell your friends the title of the photo book you just bought.

(via DIY Photography)

 

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DIY Photography

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March 16, 2014

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BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS OF COCKS TAKEN IN A BEAUTY PAGEANT

Udi Tirosh March 16, 2014

Photographer Ernest Goh is probably most known for his special way with animals. His fish photography book, simply called The Fish Book, gives a phenomenal, and quite humanizing view on the aquatic. For his next book – Cocks – Singaporean photographer turns his lens on Chicken Beauty Pageants, making those feathery animals look as human and emotive as the boy next door.

Ernest goes on a quest for searching beautiful chickens. Ayam Seramas are a specific type of chickens used as ornaments and bred for their beauty. Ernest followed their growth path from hatching at expert chicken farmers all the way to them being displayed at special Beauty Pageants.

His work around the subject has resulted in an obscenely named book – COCKS – The Chicken Book, which can be bought directly on his site.

P.S. Am I taking a cheap shot at the title? You betcha!

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Bangkok Airways Inflight Magazine Fah Thai

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January 25, 2014

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Bangkok Airways inflight magazine Fah Thai featured the COCKS series alongside Thai photographer Visarute Angkatavanich’s  fighting fish series in the January issue.Cock and Fish Photo Essay-JH_RW Cock and Fish Photo Essay-JH_RW2 Cock and Fish Photo Essay-JH_RW3 Cock and Fish Photo Essay-JH_RW4 Cock and Fish Photo Essay-JH_RW5

 

 

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Meow-rry Christmas!

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December 26, 2013

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Follow our Instagram feed: http://instagram.com/ernsphy

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Giant Fish On The Wall

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December 26, 2013

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objectifs fish wall

I’m exploring another way to bring the animal images to the public – wheatpasting. Wheatpaste is the glue used in crafts like paper-marche, collage and book binding. It is simply a mixture of flour and water. Often a popular method used by advertisers and street artists, wheatpasting is pretty much the same as wallpapering. Also known as “flyposting” and “poster bombing” around the world.

Working towards better appreciation of our wildlife was one of the reasons I started to photograph animals. And I wanted to do it at a very basic level – simple, straightforward photos of animals – much like the picture cards or the learning wall charts we played with as kids. Putting up giant images of these animals up on external walls of buildings, is a way to bring the images out from the gallery and onto the streets.

The nice people at Objectifs Centre of Photography and Filmmaking was sooo kind and allowed me to put up the first 4-metre goldfish (from The Fish Book) on their stairwell wall! More giant animals images are in the works so I am definitely looking for more wall space. Would anyone like to tip me off, or offer their wall?

 

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THE ANIMAL BOOK Co.

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December 24, 2013

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tabco_logo

About Us
The Animal Book Co. promotes animal appreciation through photography and one of our main roles is to support animal welfare organisations with photography they can use for communications and awareness. Right now, we have worked with organisations like the Action for Singapore Dogs(ASD) Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) and Veterinarians Without Borders Canada(VWB).
It doesn’t matter if they’re big or small, wet or dry, furry or scaly—we’re all about bringing animal appreciation to a whole new level! In a world where we’re permanently glued to our mobile phones, we often forget to stop, look up and truly appreciate the unexpected moments of beauty found on our fragile, blue planet. After all, have you ever been in a staring contest with a goldfish or an arrogant cockerel swaggering down a courtyard?

Photography gives the individual a special privilege to observe and then present the subject in a different light. Showing that difference is at the very heart of what we do, as seeing another side and perspective gives us more knowledge to act upon decisions. Decisions that will encourage the survival, rather than extinction of more animal species!

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An Interview With SONY

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December 17, 2013

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“The details of their fur or feathers and their behaviours hide so many secrets we are yet to discover.”
http://aportal.sony-asia.com/swpa_bios/ernest-goh

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The Invisible Photographer Asia’s Photo Book Show

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October 21, 2013

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Would you like fish or chicken Sir? Proud to present The Fish Book again and excited to launch my latest book COCKS! at the IPA Photo Book Show this Saturday at the National Museum. Come support the other new books that will be released – Ox Lee‘s Bay of Dreams, Tay Kay Chin‘s Spooks, Weilun Chong‘s Mind the Gap among others.

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COCKS goes to Slovakia for European Month of Photography!

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October 16, 2013

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Co-organised by the World Photography Organisation.

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Vientiane Times

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January 11, 2013

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One of Ore Huiying’s photos of TabCo’s partnership in Laos with Veterinarians Without Borders was published in Vientiane Times on 11 Jan 2013. TabCo documented a Rabies Vaccination campaign organised by the Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos and Canada Veterinarians Without Borders. More behind-the-scenes photos of our work in Laos here and portraits of farmers and their dogs here!

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BBC Online Gallery Feature

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December 21, 2012

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COCKS! On The Red Square – Moscow Exhibition

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December 20, 2012

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20 December 2012 – Photographer Ernest Goh makes his Russian debut with a solo exhibition at the prestigious POBEDA Gallery located in the historical GUM in Moscow’s Red Square. The exhibition cheekily titled “Cocks” opened on 14 December to kick start POBEDA’s new exhibition calendar as it officially launched its latest gallery venue in the Russian capital. Ernest Goh’s latest photographic series explores the close relationship between animals and their human masters. Humans tend to anthropomorphize their pets considering them as members of the family and projecting human-like characteristics onto them. In his “Cocks” series, Goh has vividly captured these characteristics through his realist portraits of ornamental chickens known as bred for competition by many in Malaysia. These chickens are prized for their built, size, behaviour and showmanship and compete in ‘beauty pageants’ held in villages throughout Malaysia. Judged on their stance, temperament and quality of their wing, comb and tail, owners of Seramas proudly regard their chickens as warriors or soldiers, ready for battle.

The exhibition “Cocks” is on at POBEDA Gallery, Moscow, Red Square 3 GUM from 14 December 2012 until 31 January 2013. For more information about the exhibition and gallery, please visit: www.pobedagallery.com.

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Phish Communications
Shirlene Noordin
Tel: 6344 2953
Email: shirlene@phish-comms.com

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Veterinarians Without Borders

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December 18, 2012

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Hot off the TabCo press! We recently traveled to Laos to document a Rabies Vaccination campaign organised by the Faculty of Agriculture, National University of Laos and Canada Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB http://www.vwb-vsf.ca/) The aims of the campaign were to reduce the risk of rabies by vaccinating dogs and cats, collect basic data on rabies awareness and dog demographics, and educate villagers about rabies prevention.2012_012_TabCo_VWB_Laos_ERN_8027 2012_012_TabCo_VWB_Laos_ERN_6947

 

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PIASA Auction Catalogue Paris

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October 25, 2012

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25 October 2012 – One of our images from the soon-to-launch COCKS! series fronting the cover of the PIASA photography auction catalogue.

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Framed In Their Hearts

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July 18, 2012

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It still greatly humbles us when we get to see our prints on someone else’s wall! We’re currently working on Action for Singapore Dogs’ 10th anniversary project, one of which requires us to take images of their successful adoptions. Can’t wait to see the final product! =) That’s Rex, one of the adopters’ dog that had recently passed away. The image was shot by TabCo photographer Chung Siong Hua.

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Action for Singapore Dogs Upcoming Book

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June 18, 2012

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This is Cruz, a white retriever at Action for Singapore Dogs’ (ASD) Action and Rescue Centre (ARC). Poor Cruz’s been abandoned twice. Now he sits quietly in his corner, watching you with his soulful eyes. Would you adopt him? Cruz and many other ASD dogs had their cheeky portraits done by TabCo’s photographer Chung. The Book will be launch in 2013 so watch this space!

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New e-posters for the Save Tripa! Campaign

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June 18, 2012

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The Tripa Peat Swamps is burning at the hands of palm oil companies and it needs your help to stop the fires. Please take urgent action today, sign and share the petition calling for immediate action to stop the destruction of Tripa, for a full investigation into all of the companies operating illegally and to revoke all of the permits!

Spread the petition far and wide, never underestimate the power of your friends!!http://www.change.org/savetripa
For donations go to http://www.sumatranorangutan.org/content-n51-sE.html

“Tripa is home to the highest population density of Orangutans found anywhere on earth” Said Dr Ian Singleton, Conservation Director of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program.”

“In 1990 we estimate there was almost 2000 Orangutans in the Tripa Peat forest, and now today it could be less than 200 due to the ongoing and often illegal clearance of forest through the conversion to palm oil plantations. Satellite imagery obtained shows over 1500 hectares of conversion in the last 6 months in Tripa alone, and our ground team has reported ongoing fires and illegal activity of operations in palm oil concessions despite a central government investigation into their behavior.”

More about the Tripa Peat Swamps – The three remaining coastal peat swamp forests of Aceh, namely Tripa, Kluet and Singkil, are among the most precious natural habitats in the world. They harbour the highest orangutan densities in the world and about 30% of the remaining 6,600 Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutans. They represent vital biological corridors linking the Indian ocean to the dryland rainforests of the rest of the Leuser Ecosystem and the Gunung Leuser National Park, that sits within it (itself a Man and Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site).

These coastal forests also constitute an effective barrier against natural disasters, such as Tsunamis, and play a crucial role in sustainable local livelihoods. Furthermore, peat swamp forests store huge amounts of carbon, both in the above ground vegetation, but also below ground, in the deep peat layers, and their destruction contributes significantly to global climate change. Despite these many assets, two thirds of the Tripa peat swamp forest have already been logged for palm oil plantations. (Source: SOCP)

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TabCo. in Sumatra, Indonesia

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June 5, 2012

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TabCo traveled to Medan, Indonesia, to create an e-poster campaign to save the Tripa Peat Swamps. The campaign is in partnership with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), http://endoftheicons.wordpress.com/ . The three remaining coastal peat swamp forests of Aceh, Indonesia, namely Tripa, Kluet and Singkil, are among the most precious natural habitats in the world. They harbour the highest orangutan densities in the world and about 30% of the remaining 6,600 Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutans.

On the morning of shoot day 01, we broke the bridge leading into SOCP’s quarantine centre while our vehicle was about to cross. We are blaming it on the really good nasi padang we had for breakfast. The TabCo crew had to trek the final few kilometres with all our equipment. All was good on shoot day 02, as the bridge was repaired , but this time we started our day with a smaller breakfast’! While at SOCP’s quarantine centre, we got a chance to witness Dr Anastascia insert a radio chip into an orangutan for tracking purposes. The TabCo team even to track down Pak Daniel and his troops! – This farmer takes his pet monkey, dog and pig for joy rides. Check out the above photos!

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Portraits of ASD shelter dogs

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May 18, 2012

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Tabco partnered Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) to produce a series of portraits of their shelter dogs. Action for Singapore Dogs was established in December 2000 as a non-profit organization with the mission to improve the welfare of stray and abandoned dogs in Singapore. Their various activities and programs include rescuing, fostering and re-homing of stray and abandoned dogs, advocating sterilization as a means of controlling the stray population, heightening public awareness of the responsibilities involved in pet ownership and highlighting the virtues of our local dogs.

Tabco met with ASD founder Ricky Yeo one afternoon in their Kranji compound. Ricky welcomed us with much enthusiasm despite the unforgiving heat of the afternoon sun. He shared with us the routines of a dog shelter worker and the cost and manpower needed to maintain a basic home for more than 100 dogs.

Tabco loves what ASD is doing for stray and abandoned dogs in Singapore and so decided to produce a series of portraits of ASD shelter dogs to show that shelter dogs are as beautiful and intelligent as any other canines. These portraits will be auctioned off at ASD’s 10 anniversary gala dinner in 2012 to raised funds for ASD’s yearly operation cost.

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