2/22 9pm (JPT) Online talk event “Photobook review with the author” guest: Tammy Law

02/15/2021

On the upcoming Monday, February 22, at 9:00 p.m., we are pleased to announce a day of reviewing photobooks with authors. Our next speaker will be photographer Tammy Law, author of the photobook “Permission To Belong”, published in December 2018.

Tammy Law, who continues to talk about Myanmar as a subject matter in light of the current political situation, will be our guest to talk about her photobook “Permission To Belong”. Please join us.
Please note that this event will be broadcasted online, and there will be no participation at the Reminders Photography Stronghold. Please note that this event will be streamed online.

Tammy Law “Permission To Belong” from REMINDERS PHOTOGRAPHY STRONGHOLD on Vimeo.

◉ Online Talk Event
Date and time: Monday, February 22, 2021, from 9:00 PM (Japan time)
The event will be broadcasted online via Facebook, and the URL will be announced on the day.
Please check RPS Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for updates on the event.
Guest: Tammy Law, Moderator: Yumi Goto (RPS Curator)
There is no need to register for this event, but it will be broadcasted online only, and participation at the venue is not possible.
Please note that Reminders Photography Stronghold will be closed on the day of the event.
The moderator’s language will be English, so Japanese interpretation will be provided as the event progresses.
We are looking for a remote interpreter to help us. If you can help, please contact
Please contact event@reminders-project.org

About “Permission To Belong”
Permission To Belong is a story of migration, home and belonging that documents the everyday lives of families from Myanmar (Burma) who have resettled in countries abroad.
Living against the backdrop of decades of oppressive military rule (1962 to 2011) and civil war, the renegotiation of these identities, family structures and sense of belonging are as diverse and complex as the history of Myanmar.

Burma is a country that is home to 135 ethnic groups that are formally recognised by the Myanmar government and is a country abundant in natural resources and the fight to secure these resources, that has spurred on a set of overlapping, ongoing conflicts.
For many families (originally from Burma) refugee camps are home. Many live in transition, between a place of impermanence and permanence, belonging and displacement. Resettlement has become a common survival method for ethnic minorities, who are persecuted for racial, religious or political reasons. As of January 2021, the UN considered more than 300,000 civilians to be internally displaced in the country and the Myanmar government estimates that there are over 4.25 million Myanmar nationals living abroad.

The book combines portraits of people in new domestic environments with ‘fold out’ posters scattered throughout. The posters are comprised of images from the ‘inside’ and once opened, transport you to the ‘outside’ facade of homes. Here, projections of images from within refugee and internally displaced camps along the Thai-Burma border are layered into newly resettled environments that respond to feelings of absence and presence expressed by the families involved. The portraits are coupled with written testimonials from families living transnationally in the USA and Australia.

Much of the narrative surrounding Burma concentrates on the country’s internal problems but personal experiences are often left behind. Under the current military coup, the concern is that the already persecuted minorities will have their voices stifled even further. In Australia our current government policy is shaped around border protection concerns and that idea that asylum seekers are breaking the rules. This book is a tribute to families who have been moving across continents in search for a place of home and belonging.

©️Tammy Law / Permission To Belong

©️Tammy Law / Permission To Belong

©️Tammy Law / Permission To Belong

©️Tammy Law / Permission To Belong

PROFILE | Tammy Law
Tammy Law’s documentary photographic practice revolves around issues of migration, diaspora and cultural difference. Informed by her experiences of being Asian Australian, Tammy’s work explores the complexities of displacement and the emotional, psychological and physical dislocations that occur. Since 2007, Tammy’s work has been regularly exhibited across Australia and internationally. Her artist book Permission To Belong won the 2018 ANZ Photobook People’s Choice Award and in 2017 she was awarded an Australia Council for the Arts grant to establish Fragile Constellations, an online network between photographers from Myanmar and Australia. In 2018, she pursued further research and completed her PhD in Media and Communication at RMIT. In addition to being an established photographer, she has curated and exhibited the work of others. Tammy’s freelance photography has been widely published, with clients including The Wall Street Journal, Broadsheet ,The Saturday Paper and Australian Traveller .

The three fingers Tammy holds up in her profile picture mean “symbol of the democracy movement” and “silent resistance.

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