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