The pictures in German photographer Karolin Klüppel’s (born 1985) new monograph, Kingdom of Girls, are distinguished by their contemplative aesthetic. The girls’ faces reveal the lifeworld and culture of the Khasi, an indigenous people in the Indian state of Meghalaya with a matrilineal social system: the youngest daughter is given preference in the order of succession. When she marries, her husband moves into her family’s home, and the children receive the mother’s name. Only the birth of a daughter guarantees the continuity of the clan. Between 2013 and 2015, the photographer spent a total of ten months in the Khasi village of Mawlynnong, where she captured these magical images.
