In a world where fashion and beauty is required to find spots in the limelight, a pair of charming albino twins are storming it upfront. Mind Blowing Facts is offering you the chance to learn about Lara and Mara Bawar. The São Paulo-based twins are the focus of a unique and mesmerizing photo project called Rare Flowers. Photographer Vinicius Terranova revealed the full beauty of these unique siblings. They’re only 11 years old, but they’ve already made waves by embracing their rare genetic condition. Only 1 in 17,000 children are born with this condition. The twins’ big debut came thanks to photographer Vinicius Terranova and his series called Flores Raras (translated, it means Rare Flowers).
Albinism is a congenital disorder that is the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. It can result from an inheritance of the recessive gene alleles, and is the opposite of melanism. The chances of a child being born with albinism are 1 in 17,000. It’s almost impossible to imagine how small the likelihood that someone will give birth to albino twins. Lara and Mara Bawar, both 11 years old, were born in São Paulo, Brazil, to parents originally from Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
The chances that twins would both be born with albinism are extremely rare. That being said, these girls truly are “rare flowers” and the fashion world seems to agree. Swiss photographer Vinicius Terranova, who lives in São Paulo, discovered their unique pale features in 2016.
“My point is to analyze how being uncommon is far from being negative,” writes Terranova of his photo series of the girls. “Actually, when you possess a different, therefore rare, trait this feature makes you more beautiful and special, never less. Besides its plea to the power of diversity, it represents the encounter with their sublime beauty.” With their captivating appearance, it’s no surprise to learn that these 11-year-old girls from an ordinary Brazilian family have caught the interest of many other famous photographers.
Terranova photographed them as a personal project, which he later titled Flores Raras, meaning “rare flowers” in Portuguese
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When you possess a different, therefore rare trait, this feature makes you more beautiful and special, never less.” – Vinicius Terranova “My art represents the beauty in diversity and both the literal and symbolic extensions of empowerment,” he wrote of the project Flores Raras. The twins have already managed to become models for various brands and fashion magazines.
They have been signed to model for Nike, Insanis and Bazaar Kids. “We feel albinism is pretty, we love our hair, eye color and skin tone,” Lara told Brazilian media.
The twins also have a sister named Sheila. She added that “growing up like this was amazing, we love being different and are happy with our unique beauty”
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Flores Raras literally translates to Rare Flowers. I launched the project portraying three black sisters, two of them being albino twins. I like to create work which looks at the possibilities and contrasts that our globalized world can produce. This cultural overlap has always been part of my life. My point is to analyze how being uncommon is far from being negative. Actually, when you possess a different, therefore rare trait, this feature makes you more beautiful and special, never less.”Sheila does not have albinism, but has also been signed to model with her younger siblings.
“We like to see our beauty being valued by its unique aspects,” Sheila said of the fabulous family’s newfound success.
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Their beauty is complementary in every single way, and their differences coexist in harmony, just like it should be in every society.” – Vinicius Terranova
You can follow their burgeoning careers—along with their older sister, Sheila—through Instagram.
