A Story Written on Skin

A story written on skin. “I got my tattoos when I was 10 years old. All I remember is my face was swollen for more than a week. I didn’t know the reason why I was tattooed, all I knew was all the girls of my age and even younger have them too. My life changed after this experience, I felt like I was already an adult woman, everyone admired me. Only now my grandchildren feel embarrassed of me” The tattooed women of Chin State in Myanmar are the last generation of women bearing facial tattoos, a tradition banned by the government in the 60s. Once they die, the stories written on their faces will be only part of the history books of Myanmar. This photograph is part of a series of portraits taken when it was still allowed to visit this area in Myanmar, now closed for foreigners due to political unrest.