Myanmar2005_2017

Myanmar 2005-2017

I have been visiting Myanmar since 2005, and have been surprised by the transfiguration of the city during the last few years. Big shopping malls and luxury hotels are popping up one after another in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. The construction boom is continuing, the bus system is being reformed, and the internet infrastructure is developing.
Prior to that, Yangon was only a place I passed through on the way to photograph the Inlay Lake area.But recently my time spent in Yangon has been increasing. Here, I started to mingle with Myanmarese photographers and photography students and I recognize that it is here, with both its good and bad points, Yangon is at the forefront of modern Myanmar. Because of its importance to Myanmar’s present and future, I thought that it was necessary to also include not only Inlay Lake, but also photographs of Yangon.
As the country moves away from being a semi-isolated state under the military regime, and enters a period of rapid change, I hope the people of Myanmar move towards a future that they desire themselves; and as the circumstances around them evolve, I hope they do not lose their way as a brighter day will come.

2005年からミャンマーを訪れているがここ数年の変貌は驚かされる。最大都市のヤンゴンには大型ショッピングモールや高級ホテルが次々とオープンし、渋滞の激化、バスシステムの刷新、ネット通信網の充実など建設ラッシュが続いている。
以前、私にとってミャンマーはインレー湖周辺の撮影が目的でヤンゴンは通過するだけだった。しかし最近はヤンゴンで過ごす時間が増えている。ヤンゴンでミャンマーの写真家や写真を学ぶ学生と交流をするようになり、ここが良くも悪くもこの国の先頭を走っていると実感した。ミャンマーの今と未来を思ううえでヤンゴンでも写真を撮りたいと考えるようになった。
軍事政権下の半鎖国状態から抜け出し過渡期のミャンマー、この変化が彼ら自身が望む未来に繋がることを願っている。そして様々な環境が変わって行くなか、彼らの道を見失わないで欲しいと願う。

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