Photographer: Ko Mumu, Japan
Prize: Bronze Award
Entry Description:
China has 56 different ethnic groups, Han occupies 91% of the population, the rest 55 minority ethnic groups mainly live in the inner land of China. This is a series took in Yunnan, China about Yan Liping's dance group <The sound of Yunan>, which is formed by different minority ethic groups. Working as a dancer is one of the most common job for them to survive in this Han culture occupied modern society. Some works to support the family back in the village, some aims to inherit their declining own culture, some simply can't find other jobs. For different reasons, they’re together, perform every night, mostly to Han audiences. Trying to survive in this modern society that is far away from their own cultures.
About Photographer:
A Nomadic VISURA photojournalist/documentary photographer based in Latin America, and Tokyo. Born in China, her entire school career was in Japan, culminating in Sociology and Cinema degree from Ritsumeikan University in Japan, making her completely comfortable in both Asian cultures Went to Tibet to shoot her first documentary film. Worked for 5 years in top Japanese commercial production company In 2015, she moved her base to Buenos Aires and became a freelance photographer. She has traveled to more than 35 countries, living as a global nomad, adding to her personal mix of different cultures. In her words, photography is her way to make connections with the world. She is a bird, bringing stories from here to there. Her belief is that 99% of our life is spent playing different roles, consciously or unconsciously. She likes to capture that other 1%, the moment that we lose our labels; the moment that reveals our human nature.