Revisiting the photo series that showed the beautiful romantic normality of gay relationships
Words by Sadie Christie ●
As Viet Pride prepares to paint the town rainbow, & Of Other Things is reminded of Maika Elan’s compelling photo series, Pink Choice, that effectively changed the face of Vietnam’s LGBT community in 2010, by bringing the intimate living spaces of Vietnamese LGBT couples to photographic light.
Intrigued and curious about a historically taboo subject, and amidst possible revisions towards recognizing same-sex marriage in Vietnam, the 18-month project saw Maika enter the homes of 70 LGBT couples to photograph their domestic, daily activities.
The love that is evident, the caring, and natural simplicity with one another captured by Maika, subverts the stigmatised, misunderstood lifestyles of the LGBT community—sensitising the viewer to the commonalities we all share within the socio-cultural and idiosyncratic dynamics of our relationships with lovers.
Maika went on to win two awards at the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation Awards in Hanoi in 2010 for ‘Best Single Photo’ and ‘Best Photo Essay’. Then, in 2013, Maika was the first Vietnamese woman to be awarded the Contemporary Issues Stories category of the World Press Photo Contest in 2013. Since then, Maika’s work has been shown in Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Japan, Bangladesh, India, France, Italy, The Netherlands, and Berlin. ‘Pink Choice’ is currently being exhibited in Myanmar.
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To see more of Maika Elan’s work, visit MoST Artist’s website and her own.
