Beyond the cacophony of beads and colors in the clothing of the Flower Hmong women at the Bac Ha market in the northwest Lao Cai Province of Vietnam, one is struck by their lovely countenance and obvious strength. And the Black Hmong women in nearby Sapa share that same notable countenance and strength, even if their fashions differ.
Their strength is clearly physical, a product of residing in mountainous regions, and toiling in remote rural farming areas, as well an underlying strength of family and community connections.
The privilege of being able to photograph people of vastly disparate cultures and identities cannot be overstated. It is the jumping off point to understanding how different and yet the same all people are – making a living, taking pride in what is presented as one’s own to share and sell, holding family connections most dear. It is my intention with these images to draw the viewer into lives that are worlds away and show the initially unfamiliar, that upon closer reflection has aspects very familiar indeed.
*The title Whispers from the Mountains comes from a statement made by Mainong Yang, a young Hmong American woman. She said, ”(It) represents where the Hmong people live in Asia, the voice of Hmong women, how we don’t have to be loud to be heard and how we have kept our culture and traditions in a changing world”.
Old Navy
El Abuelo Orgulloso
El Afilador
El Jefe
El Lo Sabe Todo
El Machete
El Magote
El Mejor Puro
El Sombrero Negro
El Vaquero
Hombres de Tabaco
JJ
La Amiga Silenciosa
La Mujer Sabia
La Pastora
La Tranquilidad
Los Ojos Azules
Los Palos de Marabu
Paseo de Alegria
¿Qué quieres?
Negro Y Blanco
Soulmates
Tobacco Dreams
Looking In
Still Life
El Jefe
Pineapple Cutter
Bored
Night Crawlers and Sun Tea
In this series, I tried to convey how close you can get to another person. It takes disarmed comfort to open yourself to a stranger with a camera and allow them to get close enough to see the world from your perspective. Here, I convey the empathy you should garner, the trust you must foster, and the relationship you can build, even very briefly, in order to discover life through someone else's eyes.
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