SILVER Winner – Tom Parker

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Shape Shifting the Steppes
Tsetseglen Odgerel, 35, is one of Mongolia’s most famous contortionists. I came across her on Instagram, balancing on one arm, upside down on a travelator in Ulaanbatar airport. Her physical strength is reflected in her mental fearlessness. “I am never scared. When I am contorting it feels like the world belongs to me”.

Contortionism, known as “Uran Nugaralt” in Mongolian, translates as ‘artistic bending’. Its origins date back to a 12th century Mongolian folk dance called ‘BiyelgeeIt’ & became a prominent feature in Buddhist Tsam dances.

Tsetseglen & I both wanted to capture her in her home city, but not in a typical environment. She’s always surprising, when I turned up for the shoot she had unexpectedly dyed her hair red. Her subversive spirit was something I found amongst many people I shot in Mongolia.

-Tsetseglen lives with her 2 children & husband in an modern condominium in Central Ulaanbatar.

-Driving to the edge of the city to shoot we stopped en route quickly realising this was a more interesting location. Nobody in the cafe seemed at all interested in what we were doing.

-City population has tripled in the last 20 yrs as the typically nomadic population has moved to the city for work, resulting in a property boom. Condominiums are rising up throughout & we were keen to tell this part of the story in a visual environment not normally associated with the country.

-Tsetseglen makes most of her multiple costumes herself & collects shoes on her travels around the world. Bending her body into contained spaces is one of the first things learnt as a contortionist.

-Toyota Prius: modern day Mongolian tractor. Along with horses, it dominates the Mongolian steppes as the main type of transportation. Most are 2nd hand Japanese imports – which Mongolia has long enjoyed close economic & cultural ties.

© Tom Parker
@tom_parker_photographer
Documentary, travel & commercial photographer specialising in shooting hard to get to places.