Since 1989 Aung San Suu Kyi has spent almost 15 years in detention, thanks to her opposition to Burma’s military dictatorship. When not behind bars, she has been harassed by the junta’s thugs. In 2003, her motorcade was attacked and more than 70 of her supporters murdered. Photograph: Anne Bayin
Aung San Suu Kyi was freed in November but could be reimprisoned – or worse – at any moment. “I worry about her,” says Anne Bayin, who took these photos of Aung San Suu Kyi’s admirers. Photograph: Anne Bayin
Bayin feels a special connection to Aung San Suu Kyi. “In a democratic Burma, we would have been neighbours,” she says. Bayin’s grandad was a leading figure in the independence movement headed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s father. Though the photographer grew up in Canada, her ancestral home was just minutes away from 54 University Avenue, where Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned. Photograph: Anne Bayin
Bayin’s Liberty Project was inspired by her words, “Please use your liberty to promote ours.” Among those pictured behind the half-mask - which was taken from a photo used in anti-government protests in 2007 - are politicians, religious leaders, artists, writers and human rights activists. Photograph: Anne Bayin
Earlier this year, Bayin met Aung San Suu Kyi at a National League for Democracy meeting in Rangoon. She seized the opportunity to talk her through some of the photos, among them Kim with the half-mask. “But I thought it was me!” Aung San Suu Kyi exclaimed. “It is,” Bayin told her. “It’s Half-you and Half-Kim.” Photograph: Anne Bayin
See Bayin’s work at annebayin.com Photograph: Anne Bayin
