Portrait of a Uighur
Kashgar, Xinjiang Provence, China 2003
This reminds me of an ancestor painting. Those are formal poses and this one is rather quotidian, but this Uighur man has gravitas as they say now in political circles. He sits in an outdoor noodle house near the livestock section of Kashgar market. The way he is holding his chopsticks caught my eye. A friend of mine who studied in Hong Kong told me that she used to carry a pair of chopsticks with her at all times. She’d need them if she found a snack that required using them. Once finished with her food, she’s swish the chopsticks in her tea and tuck them back into her purse or pocket, ready for the next treat.