JO FARRELL

As a photographer, a cultural anthropologist and a woman my focus lies in women's traditions and cultures 

particularly those that are disappearing.

In 2005 I was introduced to Zhang Yun Ying (a woman in China with bound feet).

That meeting completely altered my life, my perceptions and judgments on others. 

From that moment on, I wanted to tell these women's stories through photography and interviews. 

And through further research and lectures I have studied other women's traditions.
In the past five years I have documenting the Kayan (with brass coils), the Chin and Brao women (with facial tattoos).

The  question I am asked the most is "Why did these women do this?" -- and my answer is always to explain as best I can that in every society, in every culture women (and men) alter themselves to 'fit-in' to be  accepted, to conform to their society's norms. The rise of cosmetic  surgery globally is proof alone that individuals feel they need to  assimilate. Why do we do this? To be accepted, to have a better life, to  be loved.