[ YANGGE PARTY PRINTS ] Píngyáo International Photography Festival

More raving about that little (in Chinese terms) town west of Beijing? Yes, more raving. Sorry but it really was quite the town. Last post, I promise. This time I want to share with you some of my favorite ethnic inspired shots from the 2011 Píngyáo international Photography Festival, which just happened to be taking place during my visit.  

Held at various locations around the town with prints strung up everywhere from disused factories to 300 year old temple walls and parking lot gates, this festival definitely took the town by storm, swamping the streets with super keen amateur photographers brandishing an unwarranted amount of camera equipment. Let's just say unofficial sponsors Canon and Nikon certainly peaked in inadvertent exposure ratings.

Photographs by Kang Fuqi

Naturally on the look out for traditional culture inspired shots, I came across two photographers who had both captured traditional villages in full swing Yangge mode. Taking place annually in lunar January each year around northern China's Shaanxi province, Yangge Party celebrates the joy of life and happiness stemming from the past years good harvest with drum and gong bearing dancers, often on stilts, paying visits to all dwellings in the area. So whilst we're welcoming in the new year with a hangover, these guys are prancing around on stilts in the most amazing, intricately embroidered costumes, faces plastered with traditional make up and crowned with fabulously decorative headpieces. I think I might try China next New Year. 

Photographs by Kang Fuqi

Traditional culture aside, the PIP festival has a plethora of awesome work from every level of photographer, mostly Chinese (naturally) with a few foreigners slotted in here and there. A great atmosphere and an even better location, its definitely worth a visit if you just happen to be hanging around Shaanxi province but if you're a westerner watch out for those telephoto lenses! True to form, being one of the only non-Asians around, I was unrelentingly swarmed by super lenses and tiny children wielding note books and pleading for autographs. I think my 'type' may be somewhat of a rarity in small town China... 

The Píngyáo international Photography Festival 2012: my no.1 recommendation for any non-Asian that wants to feel like a famous person for the day. 

To read more about the UNESCO heritage town of Píngyáo check out my earlier post here and and another on paper cutting in Píngyáo here

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[ ORIENTAL EYES ] Lashes by PaperSelf

If you are yet to discover these amazing false eyelashes by Paperself you need to get right on over to their website and have a damn good look. Shame on you! Belonging to two London based friends of mine, Yiki Chen and Chunwei Liao, Paperself has gained enormous following throughout the fashion world since its humble beginnings back in 2009. 

Inspired by the Chinese tradition of paper cutting, these beautifully intricate lashes have revolutionised the market for falsies around the world. Stocked everywhere from the UK to Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia and featured globally in pretty much every major magazine, there's no stopping them! Luckily I snapped myself up a few freebies after helping Yiki and Chunwei shoot some of their look book images (like the one above) and writing their promotional material back in 2010. Since then they've been busy designing new styles, all inspired by traditional Chinese symbolism, so get on over to their website and have a look!

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[ KATHAKALI ] Kerala, India

 

As I've finally (after a long, insomnia-ridden train ride (my first of many no doubt)) reached 'Gods Own Country', aka Kerala, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to witness first hand the magnificent but rather peculiar tradition that is Kathakali. A traditional dance-drama, Kathakali has been performed throughout India for the last 300 years, but its origin lies within the modern day state that is Kerala. What drew me almost straight off the boat and over to the Kathakali Centre on Fort Cochin were the fabulously colourful costumes and exaggerated make-up styles of the characters. I'd seen pictures all over the internet during my research into the states' traditional practices but getting up close (the front row of course!) is really something else. The composition each character's costume are made up of a multitude of layered fabrics, jewellery and accessories -not to mention numerous coats of face paint!

[ WAYANG GOLEK ] Indonesian Shadow Theatre

Back in March last year myself and a team of exotic enthusiast art students decided to play on the idea of the traditional Indonesian performance art of Wayang shadow theatre. The shoot combined the traditional with the contemporary by translating the idea into an editorial and bringing the Golek dolls to life for a feature in my graduate magazine TRIBE,  a snippet of which can be seen here.