Wk 4 - Artist - Maika Elan
- Kennedy Nguyen
- Jun 21, 2017
- 2 min read
Maika Elan
About the Artist
Nguyen Thanh Hai, known professionally as Maika Elan, was born in 1986. She is a freelance photographer born in Hanoi, Vietnam. After taking a BA in sociology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in 2006, Maika started to use the camera to document her daily and private life. Her first project, The Pink Choice, focused on the life of gay couples in Vietnam, has been published in many magazines on print and online such as in USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain, China, India and Brazil. The Pink Choice also won 1st prize stories, Contemporary Issues, at World Press Photo 2013 and 1st prize documentary story at Pride Photo Award 2013.
Analysis
In 2010, Elan moved from editorial clients and fashion firms to documentary photography. The Pink Choice focused on homosexual couples in everyday life of Vietnam. She was not sure if she wanted to continue her work collecting photographs of gay couples but decided to keep perusing the project when she noticed the lack of representation on the subject. "My goal was to make photos about homosexuals that incite feelings of romantic love that is natural and beautiful. I chose to capture casual daily activities of the couples that can be familiar to anyone. By doing so, I hope to make the audience become interested, then gradually empathize with homosexual people." (Maika Elan)
Many artworks exploring homosexuality in Vietnam tend to focus on either on deviances (especially in movies, with images of homosexuals portrayed in ridiculous clothing and make-up, mincing, shrewish or rude manners…) or symbolic images. In photography, homosexuals are not presented simply as themselves. And if they are, they’re usually photographed from behind or with masks on. These all foster weird and absurd images of homosexuals rather then present more understanding perspectives. In turn, homosexual couples become even more intimidated and isolated.
Elan state, "The Pink Choice is a series of photos and the love of homosexual couples which focus on living spaces, the affectionate touches, and more importantly, the synchronized rhythm of lovers sharing life together. Viewers may not feel the personalities of the subjects in the photos, but hopefully they can feel the warmth of their love and caring. In way, I wanted to show what I see of homosexual people and not how they see themselves."
Elan was awarded "Best Photo Essay" and "Best Single Photo" at the Indochina Media Memorial Foundation, in 2010, for The Pink Choice. In 2012, The Pink Choice was a finalist at the Asian Women Photographers Awards. The project also won first prize documentary story at the Pride Photo Awards in 2013. Elan also won first prize in the Contemporary Issues category of World Press Photo with The Pink Choice in 2013.
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