Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: Can you please share what inspired the subjects you choose to include in the issue and photograph ?
A: I always get inspired by people’s stories. For this project I wanted to portray a group of individuals that are inspiring, passionate people that sometimes through struggle or misfortune become stronger and that encourage them to move forward and help others.
Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: The photo exhibit promoting the Humanity issue13 was so beautiful, I was particularly taken by the images of the indigenous women ‘Women of the Amazon”. Can you share what inspired you to travel to Ecuador to photograph and interview your subjects?
A: Climate change is a big issue that affects us all and our planet. The women of the Amazon are fighting for their rights as humans, for their families and their communities but also for us all. They live in harmony with nature and they really appreciate what earth is giving them. It is important to hear their voices and their claims because we have so much to learn from them. Our fast lives in big cities blind us to see the essence of the problems. I wanted to give them a space, to talk to them and hear their thoughts and learn from their knowledge and hopefully other people would be touched as I was when I went to Ecuador to meet them.
It was an incredible experience.
Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: Was there a process of trust and entry into their community that you needed to establish beforehand? Did you need security and a local host to assist you in this process?
A: I contacted Nina Gualinga on Instagram, she is a spokesperson for Mujeres Amazónicas. We organized everything through email and phone calls. She was super generous to help us achieve this portfolio.
The women were very excited to participate in this project and I am very thankful to have had this opportunity.
Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: What was the overall take away about their efforts to save the indigenous culture once you completed the interviews and spending time with them ? did you stay with them to experience their day to day lifestyle ?
A: It was a short trip but I was fortunate to spend some time with all the incredible women. They are mothers, leaders, warriors, I was very inspired by their words and actions.
They are making achievements with their fights and being proactive and present. They need to be seen. And we can help them.
Q: Where were the portraits taken ? Near their homes or ?
A: We all gathered together in Puyo. The photos were taken outside a house of one of the woman’s family in this town.
Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: Do you think their efforts will be impactful enough to save the indigenous region’s from foreign oil extraction , mining, deforestation ? Was there any element of their struggle you could relate to ? Please share any links to action foreigners can take to support their cause.
A: I think they are doing as much as they can and they are very active. Unfortunately there are many big corporations that don’t want to face this issue. They are not thinking about their families and their future.
They are only thinking about their economic power forgetting the future generations. The women talked about how we can’t keep extracting the blood from the earth-they talked about the blood symbolizing the fossil oil. Our planet will dried out if we keep taking the blood away.
Photos courtesy of Humanity Magazine, shot by Paola Kudacki.
Q: Will you return to the Amazon and do another series of images like this in the future?
A: Yes, we are working on some future projects together.
Q: What’s on your horizon for upcoming fashion and or humanitarian subjects?
A: I am working on a few interesting projects that I can’t reveal just yet. I am excited about the opportunity that I have as a photographer to have the access to people and to use my skills to help in some way some for the causes that concern me and hopefully create some awareness trying to help as much as I can.
Paolo Kudacki (Left) and Nina Gualinga (Right) attend show. Photo courtesy of Citizens of Humanity, shot by Marc Patrick.