21st Annual Minneapolis Print & Drawing Fair, Curator’s Choice, 2014, Tom Rassieur, John E. Andrus III, Curator of Prints & Drawings. Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers, Curator of African Art.

Pop up book of photos printed with Epson Ultrachrome Pigment Ink on Epson Enhanced Matte paper, mounted onto Cougar 60lb smooth cover. Cloth covers. Open dimensions: 17 x 25 x 7 inches. Part of the series “We Are Dragon People.” All design, photography, and production by Colette Fu. 

With the help of a Fulbright fellowship, Fu began photographing for this project in 2008. 25 of the 55 minority tribes of China reside in Yunnan Province and comprise only 8% of the nation’s population, with the Han representing the majority. Fu’s mother is a member of the black Yi tribe; her grandfather was Lung Yun, Governor of Yunnan from 1927-1945 and Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Army Group.

The hats pictured in this edition are inspired by a Yi folk tale: “Long ago, there was a young Yi couple in love. In pursuit of the girl, a jealous Devil King tried to kill the boy. An old man taught the young girl to crow like a rooster to call out the sun and drive the Devil away. The girl saved her boyfriend and the villagers now how their gratitude by wearing cockscomb hats that bring luck, safety, and happiness to their people.”

This work was funded in part by the Fulbright Scholarship, the Independence Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.