BIO
Cory Zimmerman (born 1980) is an American documentary photographer. Working in black and white, he primarily focuses on human rights, poverty, and cultures on the fringe of society. Zimmerman's work is inspired by the belief that "with exposure comes understanding and with understanding comes appreciation." He has traveled the world extensively, working in the slums of India, Peru, and the ba
ckstreets of America's inner cities. Most well known for his work with the migrant caravans of central America and Mexico, his most recent project concerns the struggle for survival amongst the Maya of the Guatemalan Highlands. Zimmerman studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and various other universities where he studied photography, filmmaking, art and creative writing. He is currently studying the Spanish language at UNAM in Mexico City where he is based. STATEMENT
I'm drawn to these places where the world is still real, where I can feel the past and the connection between things and the course of events that led to this point, where I can look back and see the journey I've traveled, a path that can't be quickly paved over with denial or disillusionment. Upon arriving at the last home in the mountaintop village, I exchange glances of gratitude with an entire family living in little more than a cattle shed. Despite enduring genocide, displacement, and unimaginable discrimination, resilience thrives upon dirt floors. The Maya of the Guatemalan Highlands communicate through the eyes, revealing unspoken truths hidden within. After taking a dozen or so portraits, we gather by the crackling horno, sharing a stack of hand-slapped tortillas and a dozen hard-boiled eggs. I yearn to immerse myself in such simplicity, yet I know I must leave the warmth and step outside into the haze, feeling the weight of an ancient legacy bearing down upon me. Descending the mountain, a puma’s kill perched in a lone cacao tree. I hear a rustle and turn back to see a girl with gleaming gold teeth within a broad smile step out of the corn stalk. She seems to yearn to be seen, as if disappearing from sight would be akin to death. Raising my camera, I worry her weary eyes might be seen through a lens of pity as she waves me goodbye, a fading silhouette against a backdrop of mist, a dream as clear as day.
