大凉山 [Da Liang Shan]

For years, I have lived by the saying: “when you look at a person, any person, remember that everybody has a story.” During my trip to DaLiangShan, I was faced with a version of reality that I knew existed but had not been exposed to previously. As we visited each home, we would sit down and ask our hosts questions. I listened to each person’s story. I experienced a myriad of emotions. I felt shocked, sympathetic, and sometimes even joyful because even though they faced many challenges, they were still happy and grateful. Their words and their stories became ingrained in my memory as I took their photos. I took pictures of their homes, their families, and their faces. Their stories are now rooted in these photos. I hope they will always help me remember the stories of the people I met, but more importantly, I hope that the people who view these photos ask themselves: “What is their story?”