Poser 5 + 6: White and Black is a two part, 5th and 6th installment of Ho Tam’s photobook series, Poser, in which he takes portraits of people in public spaces, repeatedly, with one shot on a film camera. In this edition, all of the photographs are taken at Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massechusets. In this series, Tam takes pictures of men and boys in black and white t-shirts. Like many of Tam’s photo series, he sets a seemingly arbitrary set of conditions for selecting people to photograph in places with a large population, however this book is especially fascinating, given the cultural and symbolic resonance of the colors black and white. These conditions provide a framework for engaging with a wide range of people, and while at first seem limiting, result in an endless array of people who fit within the parameters. The photographs in this book touches on themes of masculinity, gender, race, and class, while remaining focused primarily on the similarities between people.

Ho Tam is an artist from Hong Kong, educated in Toronto. He works across a wide range of mediums, including writings, photography, and film, in which he explores identity, politics, and public space. He is a graduate of the Whitney Independent Study Program and holds an MFA from Bard College. Ho Tam is also the founder of Hotam, an independent publisher based in Toronto.