Chiiz Volume 05 : Travel Photography | Page 30

Ari also traveled the world, from Iowa to Oman, photographing culinary culture for Saveur magazine. She is now based in New York. Ariana Lindquist I n 2005, Ariana Lindquist moved to China on a Fulbright grant, while there she lived with Chinese farmers and Tibetan nomads, climbed Mt. Hua’s to stay in a hidden Daoist retreat and crisscrossed the country by bus, train and "loaf of bread" vans. After the Fulbright she stayed in China an additional six years to photograph the sweeping changes taking place there for The New York Times. BARKHA CHANDRA from Chiiz gets in talks with Ariana over her journey so far. You can check out her work at www. arianalindquist.com. How was it to experience being an outsider and cover one of the history defining moments in a foreign country? While I was living in China the eyes of the world were on the country as two major international events took place: the Olympics and the World Expo. But for me, the far more interesting story was the massive infrastructure boom that opened up many remote areas of the country; early 19th century Chinese culture was meeting 21st century globalization in the blink of an eye. This convergence of traditional and modern culture was happening everywhere in the world, but nowhere more so than China. It was a time of great wonder and terrible tragedies. I was documenting historic change and with that came the responsibility to do my job well. For that reason, I set the goal to be a bridge of cultural understanding between China and the United States. I challenged myself to learn about the lives of ordinary Chinese citizens so that I could authentically photograph their experience in a way that audiences in America could comprehend. I lived with Chinese farmers and Tibetan nomads and traveled the countryside by train, bus and car. I also always worked to create visual stories rather than single images, so that written reportage would be better contextualized. What made you stay back in China for 6 additional years? Other than the fact that you were working for one of the biggest publications in the world? During my first year in China, while I was on a Fulbright grant, I struggled to understand what was going on in the country. Chinese citizens were adapting to a radically different economy. The government was attempting to direct a vast and diverse society in both positive and negative ways. One year simply was not enough time to have any sort of real idea of what was going on. So I stayed. The longer I was in the country, the better I could interpret the complexities of Chinese society, the better I could do my job. This is what motivated me to continue to live in China for an additional six years. Green Card Stories, your other series, is a fantastic amalgamation of some very strong people and their lives. Is there a story which you took a special liking towards? There are so many amazing stories in the book Green Card Stories, it is impossible from me to choose a favorite. Some stories are of surprising successes, others are of simply about surviving and making due. Below are two examples of people profiled in the book whom I greatly admire. When Luis De La Cruz was a child, his mother abandoned him and his younger brother in a church parking lot. When he was a teenager, his father was deported. Orphaned, the brothers moved into a sweltering garage. Luis struggled to keep up with his high school studies while working to pay the bills and caring for his brother. He managed against the odds to graduate high school. When I met him he was an honors student at Arizona State University and about to intern at the U.S. House of Representatives. Hayder Abdulwahab worked as a bodyguard for a U.S. military contractor in Iraq. He was blinded by a bomb blast intended to kill American soldiers and nearly died. Once his family’s provider and protector, but now dependent, Hayder’s successes in America are about knowing his children are flourishing in school and supporting his wife as she learns English and begins to work. His story is not only of quiet perseverance, but also speaks to how important it is for Americans to recognize the enormous risks many Muslims took to partner with and protect Americans during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Your photographs are more towards a social cause. Is there a message you want to convey through that? Apart the more thematic book project, Green Card Stories, I don’t intend to convey a particular message through my photographs. I’m an anthropologist and visual journalist by training and am very invested in the philosophy of photographing the story as it is, rather than what I (or perhaps more relevantly, editors) think it should be. I document the human condition generally, rather than specific social causes, and am fascinated by the various ways that people, communities, societies and nations navigate the world we all share. Barkha Chandra [email protected] She is the laughter dose of Team Chiiz currently rocking up the PR dept. She is always high on life and hooked to freedom. Early in the morning of the goddess Mazu's birthday celebration, man sleeps upon the opera theater stage in Wenxing village, Meizhou Island, Fujian province, China. Canon EOS 5D Mark II 24mm F/4 1/80s ISO100