Urak Lawoi: (People of the Sea)

Urak Lawoi: People of the Sea features images from over twelve years of travel and encounters among the nomadic, indigenous peoples of Southeast Asia. During my first visit to the region in 2004, I was an eyewitness to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I nearly lost my life at sea while on a fishing expedition in a traditional long-tail fishing boat. My storytelling about this incident has been featured in The Guardian and BBC World Service. Since 2004, I have returned to the region nearly every year to expand my portfolio during visits to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and, most recently, Myanmar. My photographs focus on everyday aesthetics in the coastal areas of the Andaman Sea region. I am very concerned with documenting the passage of time in this area, which has been so deeply impacted by globalisation, socio-political instability, and environmental issues. The images in this series have an intimate quality, like a family portrait album. They capture the joys and pleasures of seafaring life, along with the vulnerabilities and uncertainties of our times.