Woman Crush Wednesday: Hailun Ma
From Hometown by Hailun Ma.
Interview by Adrian Knowler
Why was it important for you to represent children in this series?
At the beginning my idea was to reconnect myself with fashion, illustrating what fashion means to me, rooted in my experience as a kid from Xinjiang province, China. Gradually, through, my trip went deeper into southern Xinjiang, and I started to focus more on the people and their way of living, and their circumstances. Kids are the future of Xinjiang, and many of them are in poverty and lack proper education. I wanted to include them in this series that focused on the fashion and culture.
From Hometown by Hailun Ma.
Your portraits evoke a formal aesthetic, but is rich with cultural objects that are uniquely tied to the region and its people. What are you trying communicate about Xinjiang in this series?
At first, as I said, it was more a fashion focused series to show my aesthetic and what I think is fashion to me. Then along my trip it become more than that, As someone born and raised in Xinjiang, I constantly felt we were a outcast of the mainstream culture, overlooked and misunderstood by most of people, not only by Chinese people from other provinces, but also by foreigners. For lots of people, pictures of Xinjiang are of the “National Geographic” type, reportage about political conflict or about scandals, in a newspaper. To me, it is a beautiful and a unique place, from the landscape to the culture - there is no place like Xinjiang and it’s my home.
From Hometown by Hailun Ma.
I wanted to show Xinjiang in a way that never been showed, and I felt a sense of responsibility to somehow reconstruct or save the beautiful and rich Uyghur and Kyrgyz cultures. By doing so, I wanted to open doors: To outsiders, I wanted to show another side of Xinjiang, and to people from the province, I want us to be proud of our unique culture. Lastly, I want to build the bridge between the Chinese and other ethnicities who live in Xinjiang, in order to understand and appreciate each other.
From Hometown by Hailun Ma.
The Uyghur population is almost never represented in mainstream media or photography. What statement are you trying to make about these people, and how is your work received in the West? How are these photos received in China?
When the work is showed in West, people are more curious about Xinjiang — what it is like, and they have political questions. When I showed in China, people were astonished by how beautiful Xinjiang is, it exceeds their expectations about this remote part of China. Last November, I showed this body of work in my hometown, Urumqi, and it was very special for me, to show it in Xinjiang. People’s reaction to my work was precious to me. Some thanked me for doing this project, I especially remember a Kyrgyz girl came up to me and was so excited, she thanked me for taking such beautiful photos of Kyrgyz people, and she said it was her first time feeling that someone was interested in her culture.
From Hometown by Hailun Ma.
Describe your creative process in one word.
Passion!
If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?
Xinjiang Cuisine 101
What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?
Girl directed by Lukas Dhont
What is the most played song in your music library?
Queen by Slenderbodies
Territory by the Blaze
Starry Night by Peggy Gou
How do you take your coffee?
Haha I don’t like coffee, I am more a tea person :)
