A SNAPSHOT

Through the lens.

WINNER OF GO GLOBAL OF UBC PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST 2016.
Every year, Venice prepares for one of its oldest holidays in history, Festa del Redentore. On this day, a bridge is temporarily constructed over the Giudecca Canal where people make their pilgrimage to the Church of Redentore. Later that evening, every corner on the harbour is filled with chatting and laughter, all in anticipation for the grand celebratory finale. Together, on sea and on land, people watch fire burst into the sky where the flames become greater than life.

WINNER OF SOCIOLOGY STUDENT ASSOCIATION OF UBC PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST 2017.
Nationalism is a modern concept where states carefully place their most favoured mask to the forefront of local and foreign communities. When thinking of the Netherlands, tall blond-haired, blue-eyed, bike riding Dutch comes to mind, we fail to see the overwhelming presence of Turkish and Indonesian Muslims that make up the bustling neighbourhoods of Amsterdam and Den Haag.
While constructing its archetypical social composition, states inadvertently lead others and their own into questioning the status of those that defy the standard images of society. As we gaze into this photo we may subconsciously wonder, “who is the ‘true’ citizen, and who is the ‘unlikely’ citizen?”. As part of this interconnected world, we must stay vigilant in identifying the presence and absence of representation within communities, especially when humans are constantly manoeuvring between borders — reshaping not only the demographic, but also the histories of the land they have settled in.

He confided that he had travelled all around Vancouver for most of his life but had yet to step foot in the big white dome, which he calls nhà tròng, or the “round-looking house”. On his birthday, we surprised him with tickets that would give him his first access inside. We bundled up and trekked through the cold wind while he traced the snow with his memories. The same footprints were made when he had first arrived into the city. Wearing the same clothes that were given to him at the refugee camps, he had roamed around looking for work in his sneakers, jeans, and jean jacket. This time when he arrived, he was more prepared.

MIMI NGUYEN