While our click-bait headline might reflect a charged visual history of western photographers insensitive attempts to photograph in developing countries, Chris Mottalini's latest photobook Land of Smiles is remarkably different. Mottalini breaks the tropes one might expect, capturing Thailand in abstract hues, balancing highly saturated, unreal landscapes -- both natural and man-made -- with mundane images of the city and countryside. Fluorescent alpha-tube lights jut into jungle landscapes like laser beams, alleyways descend anonymously, occasionally populated by a lone dog or cat, overgrown foliage sits haphazardly illuminated only by a small flashlight. Land of Smiles makes little attempt to provide answers about its subject matter, and instead functions as a series of open-ended visual notes and questions. I interviewed Mottalini to learn more about the book, which can be purchased on his site, and also at Dashwood Books, Printed Matter, Ampersand, and other fine bookstores. 

Interview by Jon Feinstein