2016-2017
THE WHITE ANGELS
02
‘The White Angels’ was Kuik's first reportage photography project, which documents the daily lives of albinos living in Taiwan. The purpose of the project is to investigate how images can unveil the audience’s prejudice and stereotype towards the albino community.
Due to impaired eyesight and prominent appearance, albinos have long been labelled as a disadvantaged social group and are usually discriminated by others. In order to break the stereotype, Kuik decided to photograph the albinos who are highly educated and of higher social standing.
Her idea was inspired by a photographer, Chris Buck’s novel project—‘Let’s Talk about Race’, which was published in ‘O’, the Oprah Magazine. The issue featured a series of Buck’s unconventional masterpieces, intending to challenge the racial assumptions in the USA.
After 6 months of hard work, Kuik ran into a dead end when she realised her photographs couldn’t convey their messages as well as she expected. In the midst of dejection, she met Tzu Cheng Liu, a photographer in ‘Rhythms Monthly’, who later became her mentor. Under Liu’s tutelage, Kuik's photography skills improved swiftly. This experience also gave her new perspectives in the field of sociology. In July 2017, Kuik finally published her project in ‘The Reporter’, a news website in Taiwan.