Cigarettes, Canoes & Candid Conversation: Nostalgic Photos of Sydney Suburbia and South East Asia

The act of taking a photo is more of a sacred practice these days. Our phones, film cameras, and polaroids are sanctified contraptions, used to memoralise the parts of life we want to relive forever. 

For someone like Burmese-Thai photographer and music producer, Zarni Kuniead Tun, a watchful eye is tunnel-visioned on the everyday - moments riddled within a smoke break, a handshake, or a hug. 

From Monday to Friday, Zarni works a graduate role in environmental science, a job that he says can oftentimes be dull. However, on the weekends before or after work, and even during his work breaks, he is a photographer, specialising in street and fashion photography. With a camera in hand and his mate Alex ready to assist, the hustle and bustle of Sydney city provides the perfect stage for Zarni’s creative eye to linger. 

“I use all my creative stuff as a release from stress at work, which is good because that energy is translated into my art making process,” he told VICE. “It's my way of destressing. I have tried going full creative before but I realised I need that balance between work and creativity. I feel like my creative job is as serious as my science job. Except science actually pays, so I need something to sustain that.”

Growing up in inner west-Sydney suburbia, Zarni first recognised the significance of photography through his dad, Par Tun. Born in Pakistan, Par lived much of his 20s in the city of Karachi. In order to get out of Burma, he had two options - to work in the military, or on the ships. He became a marine engineer for a couple years and soon found himself stationed in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s presidency.

Despite living and existing in a time and place under a strict regime, his father has multiple photo books that captured Iraq in a pure, youthful form that remains a relic of his young adulthood.

“Even though those photos don't necessarily showcase all the things that we've heard about that time, he's got photos of him going to parties, drinking alcohol, going to the beach and whatnot," he told VICE. “I feel like moments like that in its own way have influenced my work,”.

Zarni has cerebral palsy and uses crutches and a wheelchair to get around, with the help of one or two friends when necessary. More than anything, his physical condition has provided more opportunity and instilled more drive in him than ever before.

“I think it’s just made me try a bit harder,” he said. “I wish there was a bit more support for disabled creatives, or a bit more of an outlet rather than through that tokenistic outlook. Having a disability kind of focuses your vision a bit more.”

“I think that's a story for a lot of immigrants,” he said, recalling the story of his late-uncle, who worked as a carpenter as a deaf man, and who suffered from polio. 

In any downtime he can get, you’ll find Zarni scavenging the vast concrete jungle that is Sydney’s CBD. It’s a jackpot for street photography, and it’s Zarni’s goal to be the narrator of it all.

“Once you have a camera, you have the power to capture a moment in time which will never happen again. These small moments are why I love street photography, because it's finding the beauty in the mundane. The city can be very dry and pretentious to an extent. But then you get to see these small moments, like people hugging each other or having a cigarette. Or old people, I really love old people, because they're dressed so fresh, and are a time capsule of their generation. These small moments I like to document because they're of interest to me. And I feel like that's what makes street photography. What you choose to take a photo of is what you enjoy, whether it stems from your inner self or not.”

Zarni’s work often focuses on home. In early 2023, he embarked on a trip to Thailand and Laos, documenting his journey along the Mekong River. After over 1000 photos taken, 33 rolls of film developed, and many dollars spent, Zarni created a formative piece of work titled SABAI - a newspaper photo book made by himself and friends Zac Perry and Romi Pj that documents the landscapes, people and lives of those across the Mekong River as they are displaced by the rapid infrastructural developments. The collection of photos, while depicting an enriching culture thriving in a vibrant and homely state, also detail a very real process of exilement for his people.

“When we go back to Thailand or Burma, the photos I take end up kind of showcasing what's actually happening in those two countries. In Burma, there’s the military regime and stuff like that. In Thailand, it's currently following a similar suit where the military is taking over,” he recounts. 

When asked about how it feels to have his work resonate with others, Zarni’s natural humility shines through. His approach to photography has never been intentional, only a means to showcase the wonder of life through his own eyes.

“I'm just happy that people feel something about my photography. I like to think that I'm as bad of a photographer as everyone else, I’m just a good curator of my work” he states. 

“In music, I do a lot of sampling. And I feel like photography is essentially the same thing where you take moments that people have made, and you find the beauty in the five seconds of seeing something. Or in those small incidents, you hear or see that and put your own spin on it. That's essentially the way I take my whole life, everything is based off of something and you're putting your own spin on it. So going back to my parents and their experiences, everything I do is sampled from that,”.

Adele is the Junior Writer & Producer for VICE AU/NZ. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter here.

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