Dreams are worth chasing.
It was June 2012. I had a dream to travel into the depths of the Amazon and photograph tribes that I’d heard may disappear within my lifetime. If I didn’t follow my dream, perhaps no one would capture images of these people, whose cultures had fascinated me since I was a little girl. Perhaps no one would create a visual memory of their traditional way of life for the future generations to remember and appreciate.
I had no contacts and no leads, but something within me told me I could do it, and that I had to do it. I committed myself to the project and spent the following 2 months exploring the Amazon of Peru in search of tribes to photograph in their traditional dress to create a visual documentation of how life looks, or looked, for peoples whose traditional way of life is being slowly, or in many cases, rapidly forgotten.
I hope to return to the Amazon soon to continue encountering and photographing the vast and diverse tribal cultures that live within the mysterious jungle. This project turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Dreams are worth chasing.
Here is a tiny sample of the mountain of photographs I was fortunate to capture during my adventures. I hope you enjoy them. There are more on the way.
This elder woman from the Matses tribe is one of the last in her village to continue wearing facial piercings, a practice which she began as a young lady. The adornments originate from local palm trees, and the ink of her tattoo is made from the huito plant.
The feet of a Yagua elder. He has never worn shoes.
A young boy from the Bora tribe adorned with his tribe’s traditional face paint. In his village, traditional dress and body painting is now only worn on special occasions and for tourism.
This young Ashaninka girl lives deep within the Amazon. My camera may have been the first she ever saw. Her nose is pierced with cotton thread, with a jewel hanging. All women in the village paint their faces each morning, with red paint from the achote plant, in patterns which reflect the previous night dreams, their mood or simply to look beautiful.
Here are the first two behind the scenes videos shot by my assistant/partner James. Check back here for additional videos in the coming months.
To see more of my humanitarian photographs and travel photographs, please visit www.AliciaFoxPhotography.com. Thanks for visiting!
