Documenting change in Myanmar

Part of Stories That Matter 2018: BORDERS
17 Mar to 15 Apr
Lower Gallery, Objectifs
Free admission
Artist Talk: Fri 16 Mar, 6.30pm to 7.30pm. Register here.
Opening Reception: Fri 16 Mar, 7.30pm to 9pm

Read our recap of Minzayar’s artist talk and seminar here: “What’s the Story”?” In Conversation with Minzayar Oo 

Objectifs presents the work of Minzayar Oo, who at just 29 years old is one of Myanmar’s leading photographers – part of a new generation of local freelance journalists documenting the political, social and economic transition of their country.

Minzayar is uniquely known for his long-term documentary photography projects that have shed light on how recent reforms have affected Myanmar and its people. This exhibition presents two such projects: The Price of Jade, which uncovers the shocking impact of the jade mining industry on the environment and miners, and Peace Be With You, a documentation of the vulnerability of the Rohingya community.

About Minzayar Oo

Minzayar Oo (b. 1988) is a Burmese photojournalist and documentary photographer based in his native town city of Yangon and represented by Panos Pictures. He studied medicine at Yangon University of Medicine until 2011 when he decided to pursue his interest in visually documenting the transition of his country. His international breakthrough came in 2012 when his image of Aung San Suu Kyi appeared on the front page of the International Herald Tribune, the day after the country’s historic by-elections that saw her elected to parliament.

Since then, he has been freelancing for international news organizations, newspapers, magazines and INGOs in the region. He has covered numerous important stories and issues in Myanmar, including the long-term political, social and economical transition of the country and the persecution of the Rohingya in western Myanmar. He has also explored the issues surrounding Myanmar’s rarely-accessed, billion-dollar jade mining industry in conflict-torn Kachin State. His work has been published in TIME, The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, GEO, 6MOIS, La Repubblica and many other publications.

Minzayar has won multiple awards at the Yangon Photo Festival, the China International Press Photo, the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand’s Asia-Pacific Photojournalism Contest (2015), Days Japan International Photojournalism Awards (2016) and the Istanbul Photo Awards. In 2016 he was nominated for the Joop Swart Masterclass, organised by World Press Photo in the Netherlands. He was also named a finalist of the Magnum Photography Awards 2016 for his series The Price Of Jade and was nominated for the Nannen Preis 2017 for the same series. In 2017, Minzayar became the first photographer to receive the Martin Adler Prize at the Rory Peck Awards in London, UK.

Press:
Arts Equator: Art That Moves: Burmese Photojournalist Minzayar Oo

Stories That Matter: Borders – Programme
:: Seminar: Shooting with Purpose: Sat 17 Mar, 2pm to 4.30pm
:: Slideshow Projection: Out of the Shadows: New Burmese Photography: Sat 17 Mar, 7.30pm
:: Exhibition: What Works: 16 Mar to 29 Apr
:: Film Screenings: 20 Mar to 24 Mar