10 of the most arresting global photo stories of 2024

Lori D. Scott

The global cultural landscape is constantly shifting. From Taiwan’s stimulant-peddling ‘betel nut beauties’ to Shanghai’s ‘pseudo-neo-punk’ scene, photographers are not only able to spotlight thriving subcultures in their local area, but also subvert outsiders’ perceptions and present them more authentically.

Below, we look back over 10 globetrotting stories from the Dazed 2024 archive.

Likening the wide-reaching dispersal of the Asian diaspora to a flock of birds, Luo Yang's photography series captures the stark dualities within the migrant experience. Be it Paris-based, Thai-Chinese musician Theppie’s bright-red stomach tattoos, or the diasporic food markets that Chinese-Laotian model Theresé grew up visiting in France, Yang finds a subtle tragedy in the aging artefacts of their distant homelands that her photo subjects hold on to. While these subjects can return to Asia at any time, Yang explains, “There’s another, more difficult kind of ‘return’ – one in which both the self and the homeland have changed so much that reconnection becomes nearly impossible… It can feel like being an immigrant is to become like a bird without feet, unable to truly return.”

From a young child gorging on watermelon to a spontaneous pool party in a local irrigation canal, Adam Rouhana’s Before Freedom depicts the stoic resilience of the Palestinian people under brutal occupation. “[It] acts as a counter-narrative to the images we have been consuming on a daily basis for the past seven months of genocide, and perhaps longer”, Boston-born Rouhana tells Dazed. “Yes, we Palestinians are being slaughtered and occupied, and are actively resisting that, but that’s not the entirety of our existence, as those images would suggest.”

Blending Berlin club-esque harnesses and American football jerseys with more traditional Chinese blue and red pigments, Argentinian photographer Leonardo Diaz’s images of China’s ‘pseudo-neo-punk’ scene capture a generation carving their own identity between Western and Eastern influences. “China has changed a lot over these past few years,” Diaz tells Dazed, “Older generations had to work so hard for so long. Now, young people in China are enjoying a more relaxed way of life. They’ve been raised in a completely different world.”

Japan’s sprawling megacity has long captured imaginations. With a dizzying mix of rich national history and international influences, and dedicated subcultural tribes that are renowned the world over, there’s no city quite like Tokyo; and it is exactly this beauty that Guangzhou-born, LA-based photographer Leafy Yun Ye aims to capture in her photo series Tokyo Odyssey. “This is what I like the most, a collision of different worlds and cultures,” says Yun Ye. “No matter how close I get to it, I will always be an outsider observing Tokyo, which gives me more freedom to find that blurry line in this project.”

The chewing of the bright red natural stimulant betel nut is a common practice throughout many southeast Asian nations, a staple for truck drivers pulling long nights. Unique to Taiwan, however, are the ‘betel nut beauties’: young, lingerie-clad women who supply the vital substance to drivers from roadside, neon-lit shops. “The lights, colours and outfits really made you feel like a spectator driving through an interactive show,” Taiwanese photographer Constanze Han tells Dazed. “They were so fascinating and visually powerful that the image of the betel nut beauties never went away. When I became a photographer, it was always at the back of my mind that this was something I wanted to photograph.”

With a visual identity hitherto dominated by Western, colonial perspectives, Kaalaleq (Arctic Inuit) photographer Life Storch's Rise of the Sunken Sun (which was displayed at the Danish Pavillion at this year’s Venice Biennale), revolves around a simple premise: to depict the “Greenlandic everyday” from their own perspective. His images are jaw-dropping, with subjects dwarfed by the primordial, icy landscape around them, but also hint at an uncertain future. As concrete and rock begin to poke out from beneath the thinning ice sheet, it begs the question: how long will this otherworldly environment endure?

Draped in fluorescent colours and matching busby hats, South Africa’s all-girl drum majorette teams stand in stark contrast to the dry savannah landscape that they march across. Documented in her photo series Drummies (on display at London’s David Hill Gallery until January 31, 2025) South African photographer Alice Mann describes how the colourful costumes acted as a source of empowerment for the young girls that participate in the drum marches. “They were so playful, so confident,” Mann tells Dazed, “As a young South African photographer, I want to create images of South Africans that show an alternate view to pre-existing stereotypes.”

In shots of tatted-up Thai youths making out in an abandoned hotel or peering out across Bangkok’s skyline, Thai-Indonesian photographer Shana Purnama's photo series Dreams of Bangkok captures the country’s Gen Z at an interesting turning point. “Thai people often navigate between respecting cultural norms, and adapting to more progressive perspectives. This dynamic is a big part of what makes Bangkok so unique,” she explains. “Age hierarchy is still a big thing, and while there’s beauty to that philosophy and the traditions that go with it, there are some drawbacks as well. It’s why I’m spotlighting this upcoming generation, and trying to give them the respect they deserve.” The series is subversive, sultry and, above all, pretty goddamn cool.

“Time to me is not linear and that’s very present in all of my work,” says Ukrainian-American photographer Yelena Yemchuk and, indeed, this is powerfully manifested in her ethereal photo book The day (published by Patrick Frey Editions). The photos document her journey to a riotous folk celebration in Ukraine’s rural Krasnoilsk, where all of the five participating families dress up and party through the night to celebrate New Year. Following the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine which has caused mass displacement, the series takes on a new meaning. “Everything I’ve done there so far has become much more special and precious to me. I feel very blessed that I have been able to go home so many times and do all these different projects there and tell stories of my beautiful country and its people,” Yemchuk explains. True to her words, it’s a series where past, present and future converge.

Catapulted from the rural altos into the digital age, Gen Z Guatemalans find themselves at the centre of a whirlwind of influences: there’s traditional Indigenous culture, the colonial imposition of Christianity that followed, and, most recently, the diametric pull of the US and China. Far from losing these traditions, however, Guatemalan photography veteran Juan Brenner has high hopes for this new generation. “Gen Z are able to follow their own path without having to experience city life,” he tells Dazed. “I firmly believe that the moment our country changes for the better is when all our ancestral ideas are mixed with the new ideas of social dynamics, anthropology and history.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post

Remove and Replace Backgrounds Effortlessly

Photo provided by WhatsApp Photo editing tools have recently advanced, offering new possibilities for digital activities. High-quality images are essential for crafting expert marketing materials and refining social media posts. However, editing photos to achieve precision, especially removing or replacing backgrounds, often feels daunting and time-consuming. That’s where AI Ease, […]
Remove and Replace Backgrounds Effortlessly

You May Like

Subscribe US Now