User:Thechangeup/sandbox

Maika Elan

Nguyen Thanh Hai (born in 1986), known professionally as Maika Elan, is a freelance photographer born in Hanoi, Vietnam. Elan is known for her first project called The Pink Choice. The Pink Choice is a photography project, focusing on the personal lives of gay couples in Vietnam. This project was published in magazines all around the world in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain, China, India, and Brazil. In 2013, Elan was a participant in the Joop Swart masterclass in Amsterdam and was selected for the VII mentor program from 2014-2016.

Education:

Elan attended the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi and studied Sociology.

The Pink Choice:

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. "None of the pictures she saw revealed the faces of their subjects. Many were shot from the back, and some wore masks. They were stereotypical- even harsh-depictions of love."[1]

The previous representation of the LGBT community in Vietnam was pretty much non-existing and Maika wanted to make sure they were depicted as real people. After being with each couple for a few days, she realized that they were a lot more comfortable showing love in their homes and decided to take all the photographs in private moments at home where they felt more like they could be themselves and not be criticized from the outside public. Homosexual people still face homophobia from society and their families in Vietnam, so the display of real people in real relationships is critical.

Maika Elan stated, “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.”[2]

Elan was awarded for “the best photo essay” and the “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.

Exhibitions:

2009:

Emergency Room in Hanoi, Vietnam

Creative Economies in Kulalumpur, Malaysia

2012:

The Pink Choice at Goethe Institut in Hanoi, Vietnam

World Event Young Artists in Nottingham, UK

2013:

Queer Festival in Florencia, Italy

Chobi Mela in Dhaka, Bangladesh

2014:

Family Snap in Chiang Mai, Thailand

DOCfield in Barcelona, Spain

Prague Pride in Czech Republic

GETXOPHOTO in Bilbao, Spain

Can You See Me? In Singapore

Made in Asia in Toulouse, France

2015:

Guate Photo in Guatemala

Dislocation/Negotating Identity in Massachusetts, United States

Jakatar Biennale 2015 in Indonesia

Photoquai- musée du quai Branly in Paris, France

The Pink Choice in Copenhagen, Denmark

Like My Father in Hanoi, Vietnam  [3]