Constraint
Constraint
The Hmong culture is beautiful. It's filled with so much art, music, fables, deep history, and wondrous tales. Yet like everything that exists, there is some undesirable aspect that's questionable today.
The success of our Hmong women today is beyond amazing. We have scholars, doctors, entrepreneurs, and aspiring young women making a difference in the Hmong communities. Yet, they are often looked down upon because they do not meet the traditional standards, the status quo of a righteous path. The path of being married after a certain age, being obedient housewives, participating in traditional rituals and cultures.
This project is the creative imagery of how our culture can hold the women in our communities back from their full potentials; hindering their paths to success. The Hmong communities should be discussing this topic because it's a reoccurring problem in our community. Whether it is happening in your family, your neighbor, or to a stranger. We should be supporting our women who will be helping us progress into the future, whether it's a degree in science and education or a career in the music and art industry.
I pray and hope that one day the Hmong community will be able to change with the times. Thus encouraging all the good our people have done while leaving the negative influence in the past.
With this concept we kept things simple nothing to extravagant.
- The choice of make-up is neutral, a lot of nude colors so when the photos are taken any women from different ages and walks of life can relate.
- We used the red cloth as a blind fold because the color red has a lot of significant meaning in the Hmong culture and our spirituality with shamanism and our ancestors.
- While with the Hmong cloths we have a variety of choices we could pick from but we settled with very common look where it would be recognizable as the traditional look.
I hope you too notice that her risk are bound by cloths. With this concept we kept the vision of a simple and clean look.
- The choice of make-up is neutral just like the one on before, a lot of nude colors so any women can look at these photo and relate.
- The hands are constraint by Hmong cloth further putting emphasis on the story we’re trying to tell.
- In the other photos that come along with this collection. You will notice the empty canvas with the empty paint pallet where creativity and imagination is collected. Yet it is empty.
Special thanks to…
- Pa Xiong and Jim Vang
- Stacy Thao and Friends
- Paj Dawb Vang
- Joseph Vang
- My mother Nu Vang
Without these people this vision of mine would of never came fruition and I wouldn’t be able to tell this story.
-adearest