The result of seven months and over 35,000 Km travelling through breathtaking landscapes in Asia and experiencing fascinating encounters with its people equipped with a laptop and a digital camera.
The instant display of images made possible with digital technology allowed the photographer and the model to interact in a whole new way. Out in Mongolia, China, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, India, Laos or Pakistan, Michelís camera was a constant attraction for locals. First he took the picture and then showed it to the person he had just photographed.
Michel started this visual journey in Singapore and took to Delhi in no hurry. Along his way he captured on camera the rich diversity of peoples, the athmosphere of small town markets, the hectic life of Asian cities and the beauty of endless steppes and snow capped mountains. Here you will find a selection of some 400 pictures out of the many more he took.
Experience:
Equipped with a Mac G3 laptop (www.apple.com) and an Olympus C1400-XL digital camera (www.olympus.com), Michel crisscrossed 35,000 Km of Asian roads. His camera featured a 4.5 cm LCD monitor which allowed shots to be viewed one by one or presented as a fully automatic "slide show" at the press of a button. A perfect way to introduce himself and to establish a special relationship with the people he portrayed.
There were numerous hiccups on the way, such as when he was expelled from Burma for having spoken too much with the locals... He nearly lost all his equipment when he was rushed by the military to the airport in Rangoon and forced onto the first plane to Bangkok. More on the human rights situation in Burma click www.birmanie.net.
Communication with the rest of the world was also a problem to be overcome. In Mongolia, for instance, there are only two commercial internet providers (www.magicnet.mn and www.micom.mng.net) as well as an NGO network sponsored by the Open Society Institute (www.soros.org). The country has around 2.2 million people, of which 600,000 live in Ulaan Baator, and an estimated 2,100 Internet users in March 1999.
In Laos, Michel met Dr. Chou Nordindr, a French anthropologist of Laosian origin who had written his thesis at the Sorbonne on Laos's contemporary history. There, he took an interest in tribes like the Hmong, an ethnic group originating from the hills along the Laos - Thai border. More than 350,000 people have fled Laos since the beginning of 1975. Around 325,000 Laotians have resettled in third countries and more than 25,000 others have returned to Laos under a highly controversial repatriation program which was completed in February 1999.
The situation of women in Pakistan, where the practice of so-called "honour killings" claims the lives of hundreds every year, left a sad impression on Michel. Pakistani women's lives, circumscribed by traditions that generally enforce extreme seclusion and submission to men, are deprived of some of the most basic rights. According to Human Rights Watch, "Pakistani women remain structurally disadvantaged and second-class citizens as a result of legal and societal discrimination premised on social and cultural norms and attitudes"
China, the most populous country in the world, and one of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies, has been making concerted efforts to integrate into the global tourist economy. Since China first opened up in 1978, tourism has been regarded as an important contributor to economic growth. However, modern tourist facilities are not widely available in China, except in major cities and the government still does not permit foreigners to visit some areas. Official tourit policy seems to be one of control and eagerness to get the traveller to part with his money. Such is capitalist life! Mao's China is over.
Malaysia struck Michel for its diversity of religious cults and the respect they show for each other. Islam is the official religion, but the constitution also allows every individual the right to profess and practice his own religion be it Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism or Christianity. Nevertheless, although the country is hailed as a model for harmonious interracial and interreligious relations it is at the same time fractured to some extent for the same reasons. The constitution defines a "Malay" as a person who habitually speaks the Malay language, professes the Muslim religion and conforms to Malay custom.
Sadly associated with sex tourism, Thailand has lately enacted a number of legal measures such as the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act (12/1996), Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Children Act (11/1997) and a new labor law (08/1997), prohibiting child labor and sex discrimination, outlawing sexual harassment, and regulating working hours, overtime, and benefits. In this respect, Thai civil society has mobilised itself in an effort to end what Human Rights Watch calls a "modern form of slavery" in Asia and bring national laws into compliance with international labour and human rights standard.
India (335 USD GDP per capita) has been declared as the one of the worldÕs ten biggest emerging markets, and in terms of investment opportunity, is often compared to China (610 USD GDP per capita). India today remains a country of stark contrasts and striking disparities. Some states and districts of India report levels of social advancement similar to those of leading industrialized countries. Other parts of India report achievement levels that are among the lowest in the world. Some 36% of the country's population lives below the poverty line - defined as access to the minimum number calories required for healthy living and almost half the population - some 450 million people are still illiteratte.
(Many thanks to joaquin Gonzalez-Aleman for his big contribution in writing this text)
