Artist's Statement

Larry Louie

Beyond the Darkness celebrates the human spirit with stories of strength in the face of struggle; hope in spite of horror. I have seen a world where there is dignity in labor, a world where a cemetery can be a basketball court and where children can play badminton among the rubble caused by an earthquake. At a school for blind girls in Bangladesh, I met a woman who as a teen had lost her eyes to an acid attack and was now a teacher’s aid. In the charcoal slums of Manila, I witnessed the strength of men at backbreaking work. Amidst devastation, drudgery and deprivation, I saw dignity, ambition and joy. To me, photography is a conscious and deliberate way of seeing the world around us. It has fed my hunger for human experiences along paths that are less traveled. As I was preparing and selecting images for this book, a compilation of the last 12 years of my adventures, I realized how fortunate I have been. I have seen and experienced so many beautiful places and met so many genuinely generous people. This book is as much about them as it is about me. It is a celebration of all the friendships I have made all over the world; a celebration of the human spirit, the strength and hope sometimes in the face of incredible hardships. It is about the lives I have touched, which in turn have touched me. As you browse through the book, I hope you will enjoy these images and allow them to take you to these places that I treasure and love, places that are Beyond the Darkness.