This series portrays Ulaanbaatar’s ger district community. All photos were taken in a temporary studio, set up in the area with the help of teens from the ger district of Chingeltei, in collaboration with a local NGO. The youths were in charge of bringing people in the studio to have their portrait taken. These were mainly passersby, sometimes friends and schoolmates. The studio was open almost everyday for three weeks; we photographed almost one hundred of the women, men and children who live, work, study, play, love and hope in the ger districts of Ulaanbaatar.
Ger districts are growing shantytowns surrounding the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. In the past years an increasing number of Mongolians have been abandoning their nomadic lifestyle in the countryside to live in the city. Most migrants have settled in gers -the traditional portable homes of nomadic families- in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, shaping an unique rural-urban environment.
In ger districts basic infrastructure such as running water, sewage and heating systems is insufficient. Poverty, unemployment and alcoholism rates are high. In the winter, when temperatures fall well below zero, home coal burning makes the environment unhealthy, turning Ulaanbaatar into one of the most polluted cities in the world. Environmental, economic and social issues in ger areas have been addressed - and partly tackled - by local residents and government, as well as non governmental institutions, including international and local cooperation organizations.
The main objective of this photo project is to meet the people behind the statistics, and to share the stories of the women, men and children who live, work, study, play, love and hope in the ger district community of Ulaanbaatar.
My first idea was to set up a temporary photo studio, where ger residents would come and sit for a portrait while telling their stories. This initial concept then developed into something more collaborative: with the help of local youths, the project could become a collective self-portrait of a community. After liaising with MYDS Centre, a local NGO active in youth development in Chingeltei, we involved a group of ger resident teens aged 12 to 16. Together we set up a basic photo studio in the NGO headquarters: portable light, tripod, fabric background bought at the market, and camera. The youths were in charge of bringing people into the studio to have their portrait taken. These were mainly passersby, sometimes friends and schoolmates. After sitting for their portrait, people would be asked to share one thought about life in the ger community: a special memory, a dream for the future, something they would like to change.
Our temporary studio was open almost everyday for three weeks. We aimed at taking as many portraits as possible to encompass the diversity and human complexity of the community. By taking photos in a purposely constructed environment, as opposed to actual locations, any direct visual information about ger district living conditions would be intentionally left out, thus focusing on other signifiers: physical traits and facial expressions, posture, clothing. A quasi-ethnographic approach, mixed with the mood of the provincial town photo studio, would be the visual key to create a ger community family album.
Working as a team, we interviewed and took the portraits of nearly 100 people. Around half of the passersby we stopped int the street refused to be photographed. Among those who agreed, most were photographed just as they were; others preferred to come to the studio one more time wearing something different from everyday clothes.
These are their portraits.