Larry Louie

I have always felt a special connection with the people of Tibet, but over the past few years, I feel an increasingly urgency to document these people as their traditional ways of life, ancient knowledge and customs, languages and identities are threatened by the rapid modernization of China. Confronted with economic, political and social pressures from the communist Chinese government and the rapid industrialization of their traditional homeland, Tibetans and their cultural identity are facing enormous pressures from all around. As new roads and new towns are being built into the tradition Tibetan mountains and grasslands, many Tibetans, facing the rapid changes, are also confronted with the challenges of being caught between the past and the present, and many more will face the social issues of being touched and left behind by modern day China as they struggle to preserve their cultural identity.