Ho Tam, the one-man-band publisher

Ho Tam Press is the brain child of Vancouver-based artist Ho Tam. The name reflects its personal output, everything from editorial, design, production and distribution is all completed by the man himself.

To reference his complete control of the operation, the publisher has a self-titled publication which provides the wider world with the influence and interests of Ho Tam. Issues include A Brief History of Me, an archive of his life, Hot Asian Men, which includes a personal story as well as 13 contributing writers and The Greatest Stories Ever Told, a collection of tales formed of collaged illustrations created with international banknotes.

Ho Tam has an additional publication Poser, a book of snapshots of strangers in public, repeatedly in the same location. No matter the situation his process is the same – a film camera and one shot. “The exchange is usually completed within a few seconds, using analogue film, I never take more than one picture of each individual,” explains Ho Tam. “It is both an exciting and nerve-wracking experience because one never knows what the response will be.” The simplicity in his process results in a series of images which are hilariously similar, brightly shot and full of awkward smiles. Ho Tam proves in this series that no matter how of a rush we are in, and however mammoth personal problems may seem, we’re all quite similar really.