Ma Hailun: Uruklyn

Before the age of 18, Ma Hailun was born and raised in Urumqi, Xinjiang. After turning 18, she moved to New York to study fashion photography at the School of Visual Arts in Brooklyn. Despite the vast distance between the two places, Ma finds a fascinating cultural resemblance between them: Brooklyn brings together people from all over the world, creating a rich blend of cultures, while Xinjiang, as a corridor connecting Europe and Asia, also nurtures a diverse and symbiotic way of life.

As witnesses to two important phases of her life, these two cities represent Ma's profound and unforgettable memories of growth, which have also directly influenced her later creative work. Using her hometown Xinjiang as an anchor, she documents her homeland through fashion photography, giving rise to the project "Uruklyn" - a clever combination of "Urumqi" and "Brooklyn".

Through this project, she hopes to open a new perspective, allowing more people to see the authenticity and diversity of contemporary Xinjiang - not just the postcard-like landscapes, but also the often overlooked yet meaningful fragments of daily life. At the same time, she hopes that native Xinjiang people can rediscover their familiar yet extraordinary homeland through these images.

She also aims to use these visuals as a bridge for communication: allowing people from different backgrounds to meet and exchange ideas here, collectively shaping the collective memory and cultural identity of the "Xinjiang people".

flexibound, silkscreen cover, 21.6 x 28.3cm, 180 pages

published by JZZP