The Artistry of Documentation: Interview with Minzayar Oo
By Leanne Mirandilla
Portrait of MINZAYAR OO. Courtesy the artist and Charbon Art Space, Hong Kong.
Twenty-nine-year-old Burmese photojournalist and documentary photographer Minzayar Oo came into his profession unexpectedly. He was studying medicine in Yangon when he purchased his first camera to shoot the landscapes of his home country as a hobby. In 2012, however, a photo of his depicting Aung San Suu Kyi during the chaos of the Burmese by-election ended up on the front page of the International Herald Tribune. It was then that he abandoned his medical career to dedicate himself to documenting the changing times. His award-winning photos have since been published in leading international titles such as TIME, The New York Times, National Geographic and The Guardian. He is currently represented by Panos Pictures in London and shoots photos for NGOs and news organizations across the globe.
