Oum woodoodoo

On my last trip to Chiang Mai, I arranged a portrait with Oum, whom I had only known online. After a long ride, I parked in front of the house where she works beside a small music studio. Her room felt like a teenager’s bedroom in the best possible way: toys, vintage cameras and collages crowded around a single salon chair. We had barely an hour before her next eyelash client arrived, so I set up quickly while she talked.

Oum told me she had left a graphic design job in Bangkok, moved to Osaka to work and develop her lash-extension skills, then returned north to open her own studio. Music remained another part of her life, and she also DJs as Woodoo from time to time.

Outside, her shyness began to fade. She climbed onto a low wall beneath a huge power line and suddenly seemed much more comfortable in front of the camera. We made a few quick photographs, shared a few laughs, and then it was time for her next client and for me to get back on the bike.