Known for his lifelong commercial work as a celebrity and portrait photographer, Sandro Miller (who goes simply by "Sandro") recently captured an amazing set of photographs that show the range of modern and traditional, native cultures of Papua New Guinea.
Published in an article by Smithsonian magazine, the images in Sandro's recent series show both multiple sides to an ancient tropic. In Port Moresby, the country's capital, a variety of street crimes are not uncommon. Sandro photographed some of these young men who take on crime as work alongside Papua New Guinea's more traditional people who came in from around the country to display their various native dress, each unique to the particular village from where they came, during a three-day festival known as the Goroka Show.
Images and captions by Sandro and Smithsonian: Hodley Nau, 20, shows off initiation scars that resemble the ridges on the back of a crocodile. The scars, which represent the Sepik people’s reverence for the river creature, run from the shoulder to the hip and are made by rubbing ash into fresh cuts. Hodley wears foliage briefs known locally as “arse grass.”
The following photographs are from this series that displays everything from white-painted bodies and tribal-scarred backs of Papua New Guinea's native culture to the "raskols" who commit common street crimes as a living in the capital city. See the rest of the series in the full Smithsonian article.
Boi Mark, 36, wears the traditional makeup of the Omo Masalai “Skeleton Men.” His wooden sword is used for a performance called a sing-sing, in which Omo Masalai members chase a fellow tribe member who is dressed as a piglike monster. The dance concludes when the warriors pretend to slay the beast.
The red and yellow face paint worn by this man from Jiwaka Province is made from colored rock. The black is a mixture of charcoal and pig fat. The white is traditionally made from clay, but nowadays correction fluid is often swapped in since it’s longer-lasting and comes with a handy application brush.
A 27-year-old from the town of Baimuru holds up his homemade 9mm welded together from scrap metal. PNG’s street criminals, dubbed “raskols” in the 1970s, often carry makeshift weapons to intimidate victims during robberies and carjackings. If he were to fire this gun, it would likely injure him along with his target.
Joseph Kayan, a Goroka Show participant from Chimbu Province, wears boar tusks and the tail of a tree kangaroo around his neck. The design of his headdress is specific to his village: it includes bird-of-paradise feathers, with reeds to fill out the shape. His armlets hold sprigs of plants from his region.
Images and captions used with permission.
This is a good example of when captions are helpful to enhance a photograph and put it in context. The portraits are stunning on their own (the close up of the man with red, white, and yellow faceprint is breathtaking), but knowing about the Goroka Festival and the reason why they have decided to appear in their traditional style gives the subjects far more depth and complexity.
These aren't just interesting and different looking people; they are active and knowing participants in the continuation of their indigenous culture. Timeless and modern all in one.
Love it.