Venerable Sayadaws

A Sayadaw is a Burmese Buddhist title for the senior monk or abbot of a monastery.

The series documents encounters with senior monks of the Theravada tradition across Myanmar over five years. Shot on medium format film, the work favours stillness and duration over the immediacy of reportage, a quality of attention that mirrors the contemplative tradition it observes.

Between 2009 and 2014, Myanmar was going through a period of quiet but far-reaching change. The Sayadaws remained anchors of continuity in communities under pressure. These photographs are less documents than encounters.