I first arrived in Asia in 1986 on a one-way ticket, a little money in my pocket and a desire for adventure to spur me on. 35 years later, I’m still here.

Fuelled by a healthy dose of curiosity I traversed the continent for decades, documenting my encounters on film and memory cards, leaving behind a record of printed material: magazine articles, postcards, calendars and books.

The collection I present here draws from all those stories I reported and roads I traveled and centers around four words that, for me, collectively describe the essence of life in Asia. Work, Play, Eat & Pray.

These four verbs, in their glorious and abundant variety, saturate all aspects of life in Asia; the necessary, the joyful, the nourishing and the solemn. Time and again they draw me back to the road and the desire to document life with all its vicissitudes, and by doing so hopefully bring me and the viewers closer to the understanding of what it is to be human. 

Live a Life of Wonder!

Hans Kemp.


WORK PLAY EAT & PRAY

Offloading a barge filled with sacks of rice, Mekong Delta, Vietnam.  
Photographing a story on rice in the Mekong Delta  I came across this boat. I wanted the depth and waited for one of the laborers to get to the top of the stairs leading from the hull to the deck.

WPEP #097 The Belly of the Boat

What is the value?

Details