199 Little Heroes

Throughout history, people have expressed their passions and their personalities through their collections. But some collectors' passions cross the line into obsession. In London, Viktor Wynd fills his home with eccentric arrays of objects, ranging from tiny human baby skeletons to shrunken heads. Calling them his children, Viktor is known to kiss them affectionately and converse with them. In the Philippines, Herbert Chavez is the self-proclaimed Filipino Superman, a long-time collector of Superman paraphernalia who, in the last 15 years, has undergone a series of cosmetic surgeries to resemble his superhero.

Many in the West practice body modification to some degree, whether it's ear-piercing or breast implants. When people go to extremes with body modification, they provoke fear and disbelief. Take, for example, the world's most pierced woman, Elaine Davidson, with her 8000 plus piercings; Mary Jose Cristerna, with horn implants, pointed teeth, and body tattoos; pumped up female body builders, worshipped by some men for their strength and physique; and Japan's adventurous bagel heads, having saline injected into their foreheads for a temporary mutant thrill.

Follows a year in the life of nine-year-old Janibek, who lives with his family in Mongolia's Altai Mountains.