5 years ago he decided to leave everything behind and just travel. Right now he is in China - his 55th country.
In his blog he states: "After finishing my masters and working few years it all got very stressful. Just sitting behind the computer all the days and then when some serious digestion problems kicked in, I knew there is only one way out of this mess, I bought the cheapest tickets to New York and literally flew away from it all!"
His trip would last only few months due to his funds but soon he learned to travel in a very efficient way. There are many people who helped him on his journey so he decided to share their stories with portraits in his project simply called "PEOPLEIMEET". "For one human race and a world without borders!!", as the artist states.
You can read the complete stories and their translations and follow this crazy journey at his Tumblr page.
"In my country, institutions and laws have been used to cover-up heavy crimes against the people. The recent disappearance of 43 students revealed that there were even more crimes committed by the state than projected. "These public services" which should serve our society have shown that they do the complete opposite of what a society should stand for. In Mexico many human rights have been violated and the existing social inequality just demonstrates the great corruption and impunity that is allowed under the government."
Where do you and your friends come from amigo? "We come from Otavalo (Ecuador), but we live here already for almost twenty years. Roaming and playing around every corner of Europe." May I ask you why are you dressed as North Americans? "Hah, if we get our Quichua dresses no one would really understand what we want. They are all well accustomed here to the people of the 'westerns' which they have been watching on TV since they were little kids."
Hey auntie you should not work today, it’s labor day!
"A real royal guard must also know how to act like it."
If you had one wish what would you wish for? “My dream is to travel to Mecca one day with our whole family!You must know that this process is very complicated.Normally a journey is organized through tour companies with special guides and it cost roughly around 90,000 rmb ($15k USD) for one person only. There are many Muslims in China and you have to reserve yourself few years in advance. As a girl I would not be allowed to do this journey alone, so we have to go all together with my brothers and parents as a whole family. The whole tour lasts from 20 days up to a whole month. We are only simple factory workers.”
What is the most important thing in life? "... to be able to grow your own food!"
- met them in Otavalo [ ECUADOR ]
Why are your eyes so red? "It's allergy to the strong sunlight"... how come?"You know it's said that our tribes lived in the forest bellow thick forest canopy for thousands of years, so we developed a special kind of vision in the darkness.It's only recently that we cut down all the trees and created this city where lot's of sunshine comes in."
In our village we say; “Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, without shortening it’s length. Happiness never ceases by being shared.”
"I think a lot lately whether the new flat in a different town will replace my home. What is home after all? Is it a particular place somewhere, or is it rather a feeling of belonging somewhere (regardless where you are)? I do not like moving, but I do it anyways almost regularly every four to five years. I am wondering whether (and how) it will be different this time..."
- met him in Prague
"Look he has one glass eye! ... yeah and look he is mute." "We are working in Jordan and since people always mock both of us, we became close friends."
"I’m from Paris and I came to Shanghai few years ago. So far I really enjoy the life here. I just think it’s a good place to be in the fashion business here and right now."Oh, you are a model? "Thank you, but no. It’s more like a fashion PR."
If you had one wish what would you wish for? “I don’ know … maybe I would wish to have a lot of money!” Money? … but what would you do with it? “Since it’s unrealistic and I know it will never happen, we don’t need to go further on this.”
"Nine years is the exact time that has passed since I started using bike as a means of transport in the City of Mexico. Initially I cycled only within the campus of our university, then from my home to the faculty, few times I went biking on some trips from my home ... and finally from my home to the whole city. The experience has been vast and pleasant, not without falls or accidents and when these occurred the help of strangers has been invaluable and comfortable; as well as the responsibility and help from one driver with whom I had an accident resulting his truck hitting the rear rim of my bike; that was really surprising!"
- met her near Wadi Rum [ JORDAN ] (Banū al-Ḥuwayṭāt tribe)
"I was born here and worked as a civil engineer for more than 40 years. Our team designed hydroelectric power plants and also few nuclear ones. The life was different then and instead of computers we had to draw everything by hands.We often worked overtimes and didn't get many vacations. I am 84 now and I believe that with my experience I could make it at least into the middle class in any of the developed countries. Instead I am here with an old house that I can't afford to repair, without a car or a new apartment observing how the prices of the water, electricity, gas and phone are rising."
"Acting has been one of the most important lessons of my life. It led me to self-identity, to question myself about who I really am and how do I want to contribute to the society. Pointing out my truths and stop deceiving myself. It was what connected me with my own emotions, which helped me to stop feeling lost in life."
If your community would be the only one left in the world or completely isolated, how long could you stay alive independently? "To tell you the truth it wouldn't change the reality. We (the 3 families that form our community) have been living in this forest for ages. The only thing what we need are probably the clothes but the rest just grows here. If you know how to work your own field with the help of your family, you don't need anything else to survive here. All the vegetables you see on this table are the products of our year long constant work."
"You know, you didn't have to invent such a story just to take my picture"
"Earning someone’s trust is very hard I get it, but instead of going straight forward we prefer to think too much and get into these weirdest speculations which just unnecessarily complicate the whole situation."
"I wanna be an artist when I grow up!"
"I work for the 'Time' magazine." What is that you do exactly? "I am sorry, I have no time to talk now."
"My boyfriend’s father doesn’t approve of me.I am going to work as a flight attendant in Singapore."
"We come to the beach every weekend, I think we both like the smell of the sea."
"I am from Qinghai province and I am waiting for the sun to come out from behind those clouds … that will keep me smiling the whole day !"
"I was the second child of the family and in order to avoid problems I was sent to my aunt's house right after birth. Until I became five years old, I thought my aunt is my mom. My aunt and my uncle were much elder than my real parents and I must say they treated me even better than their own grandchildren. I think I had a pretty happy life until I was picked up by my own parents."
"I am 73 years old and I have a lot of free time. I decided to write invisible poems on the pavement. I created a special sponge brush refillable with water. This way I can write how much I want and always refill the "ink" in the nearby fountain. Look at the pavement, … and there is, where I started to write today after lunch.” - he points at the other end of the plaza, approximately 100 meters from where we were standing right now.
"Hey! ... why don't you take a picture of me! Let the others know that Morocco is not only about beautiful landscapes and delicious food, but also about very handsome men."
"Just slow down friends ... you can't get anywhere fast. For example; If I made her ride me anywhere fast right now, I might get there really quickly, but she wouldn't even look at me for rest of the week."
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't need to train him to become semi-human. The point is to open yourself to a possibility of partly becoming a dog."
"The huts consist of three parts; four posts on the bottom which prevent the wild of coming inside, the main level where we sleep and cook and the attic where we dry the rice. I still prefer to live in this hut even I was the first one to construct a modern concrete house in the village for a filming crew who weren't very comfortable with living in the huts here in the 90's. The rice is almost cooked would you like to join me?"... sure!
"We all know well that everybody loves to eat, but when there is a need for help around the kitchen in order to prepare the food, no one is present! Ok ... can't really complain because after all, I still get to watch them enjoy their meal as a reward."
"Just a small selection of hundreds and hundreds of nights spent in my green tent."