©Kantaya New, The Beginning, Neither of them notices the space growing between them.

On average, people spend 4 hours and 37 minutes on their phones each day (or more). Individuals check their phones an average of 58 times each day. Our relationship with our phones, with social media, and the online world have altered the way we communicate, spend our time, and most importantly, how we connect to those under our own roofs. Photographer Kantaya New  has created a humorous, yet poignant series. A Modern Day Affair, that speaks to new behaviors and how device addiction can create emotional distance between partners.

An interview with the artist follows.

©Kantaya New, Cutting Nails, He clips his nails while scrolling, the phone balanced between his feet. Blood stains the mat — a small but visible warning.

Kantaya New is a Thai–Singaporean conceptual and street photo artist. Her conceptual work explores emotional tension and digital dependency, while her street photography focuses on serendipity and small moments of daily life. Self-taught and shaped by life between Bangkok, Tokyo, and Singapore, her practice moves between constructed scenes and spontaneous encounters, using metaphor, intimacy, and quiet humor. Her work has been recognized by the LensCulture Critics’ Choice Award (Winner, 2023), the Fujifilm Moment Street Photo Awards (2nd Prize, 2024), and the Sony World Photography Awards – Open Lifestyle category (Shortlist, 2022). Her photographs have been exhibited across Asia, Europe, and North America.

Instagram: @kantaya_new_art

©Kantaya New, Toilet Time, He scrolls without pause. She hands him toilet paper — a silent rescue.

A Modern Day Affair

 In A Modern Day Affair, Thai–Singaporean artist Kantaya New explores emotional absence in modern relationships. The series began in 2023, based on her own experience—her husband, while physically present, was often emotionally absent, and lost in his phone.

While confiding in friends, New realized that she wasn’t the only one facing this issue, and thus began A Modern Day Affair.

Photographing these intimate moments became a way for New to both document and make sense of her inner world. Some moments are real, others are exaggerated, and most are self-portraits. New also uses various props as visual metaphors to express what was hard to put into words. A phone cable wraps around a wrist. A cracked screen protector stands proudly in place of candles on a white cake.

The line between what is real and what is constructed is intentionally blurred.

“This is not a critique,” she explains. “It is my way of saying: something was felt, even if it went unseen.”

Although personal, the work connects with a larger issue. Research shows how device addiction can create emotional distance between partners. This issue, New feels will only grow more pronounced with time. Hence, she feels an urgency to shed light on this issue, and encourages viewers to quietly reflect on their own relationships and “modern day affairs.”

©Kantaya New, Foam Man, She bathes him while he scrolls. Tender, absurd, unseen.

Tell us about your growing up and what brought you to photography.

I came to photography entirely by chance. When my husband was posted to Tokyo for work, one of his former colleagues, a passionate photographer, visited us. We took him around the city, and during those outings, he suggested I get a camera of my own. I had never used a serious camera before, but after getting one, something just clicked. From that moment on, photography slowly became a part of my everyday life, and I have not looked back since.

©Kantaya New, Movie Night, Together on the couch but light reveals his distraction.

A Modern Day Affair is such a creative and humorous project… what compelled you to create it? Does it all come from real life?

My husband and I moved back to Singapore during the pandemic. Like many others, we found ourselves spending more time on our devices. I noticed how much time he was drawn into his phone — and how that changed the dynamics of our relationship. It reminded me of earlier moments, when television or video games created similar distance between us. But this time, the phone felt like a silent third party in our relationship.

That realization led me to start this series. I wanted to document the emotional weight of those moments — the quiet disconnection, the small acts of being overlooked. I also hoped it might prompt others to pause and reflect on how technology quietly shapes the intimacy in their own lives.

©Kantaya New, Tethered Hand, The phone cable wraps around his wrist. The connection feels more like restraint than utility.

Our addiction to social media is an important subject — it truly is invasive to a relationship. What conversations has your project sparked?

From conversations I have had, many people seem to relate. Some feel it is often the men who are more drawn to their devices — but of course, that might not always be the case. What I found interesting is how easy it is to assume you have shared something with your partner, when in reality, you shared it on social media or with someone else. That gap creates misunderstanding.

What this project has reminded me is that relationships need intentional space. There needs to be time set aside — where no screens interrupt — for genuine connection. That discipline, and the mutual respect behind it, is essential.

©Kantaya New, Fancy Some ‘Us’ Time, She tries to “seduce” him. But he simply scrolls past.

Speaking of humor, I see it in a lot of your work, even in your street photography. Is that how you see the world, through a humorous lens?

I think it is easy for our minds to focus on what is missing or what went wrong. Negativity often stands out. So I have always tried to be intentional about finding humor — to highlight the small, absurd, or unexpected moments that make life lighter.

I hope my photographs bring a smile or a quiet laugh to viewers. For me, humor is a way of softening life’s edges. If we look closely, there is often something quietly funny in the everyday.

©Kantaya New,Final Step, A red heel steps down. Beneath it, a broken phone.And speaking of street photography, street is the other significant part of your practice beyond fine art projects. Did you start as a street photographer and then create specific projects or…

Like many beginners, I started by photographing everything — landscapes, flowers, animals, long exposures. I remember the early years in Japan, when we would rent a car on Friday evenings, sleep for a few hours, and drive through the night just to catch the sunrise far outside the city.

But after a while, I realized that to capture a perfect landscape, I needed to be rooted in one place for a long time. My attention slowly shifted toward the unpredictability of the streets. I became drawn to the challenge of finding a quiet, serendipitous moment within the chaos — a small bit of magic in everyday life.

©Kantaya New, Apart, A desk. A still glass, half full. A wedding photo beside him—a glimpse of what once was.

Who or what is inspiring you lately?

For street photography, I am inspired by Robert Doisneau, Edas Wong, and Alex Webb — each in their own way showing how timing, composition, and emotion can come together in a fleeting second.

For conceptual work, I am influenced by René Magritte, Aline Smithson, Tom Potisit, and Pixy Liao — artists who invite us to think, laugh, and see the ordinary from a fresh perspective.

©Kantaya New, The Remains, Her bed, still made. A shirt, a pearl, a dead rose — what’s left behind says enough.

©Kantaya New, Post-it: I Miss You, Three notes on a door: I miss you. A message left in absence — unanswered.

©Kantaya New, The Offering, A cracked screen protector is placed on a white cake— a celebration interrupted.

©Kantaya New, No Signal, Alone in the fog, he stares into his phone. There is no signal, and nowhere else to go.