Window on the world
The Xposure International Photography Festival, which closed in Sharjah on March 5, is a celebration of a universal language. Photographers connect the world to the stories that matter. These images, our selection from the festival, tell stories of struggle and perseverance, crisis and triumph.
AFSHIN ISMAELI
Afshin Ismaeli is a Norwegian war photographer. His exhibition, Shadows & Resilience: Life in Afghanistan Under the Taliban illuminated the shadows cast by Taliban rule and celebrated the enduring spirit of the Afghan people. Here, a defiant protestor demands rights for women in the streets of Kabul.
DAVID HUME KENNERLY
David Hume Kennerly has documented history for 60 years, including the Vietnam war for which he won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize. His 1977 photograph of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat standing before the Pyramids of Giza is a classic portrait of power.
PETE SOUZA
Pete Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for all eight years of the Obama administration. Here, President Barack Obama lifts up James Haynes to take a selfie with him and James’ brother in the Oval Office on December 4, 2015.
NICOLE TUNG
In part of her exhibition, titled In the Aftermath of ISIS, Nicole Tung asked what does that transitional moment, between the end of conflict and a return to ‘normal’ life, look like? In this February 2019 image, a fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces walks through the destroyed town of As Susah in Syria. ISIS was ousted from As Susah only weeks before.
KILIII YUYAN
Kiliii Yuyan tells the stories of lives bound to the land and sea. He documented the Inughuit of North Greenland who hunt by kayak and dogsled‚ a way of life that has barely changed. Here, Micheli Kristiansen searches for narwhals, as his ancestors have done for centuries. In adhering to these methods, they conserve the natural world and their place within it.
SHARWAR HUSSAIN
Sharwar Hussain is a Bangladeshi documentary photographer. Bangladesh is at the frontline of the global climate crisis. Close to the coast, as sea levels rise in the Bay of Bengal, residents battle storms, tides, tornadoes, and land loss, struggling to survive. In this image, in Gabura, Salam seeks safety from an approaching storm, for himself and his pet duck.
JOACHIM SCHMEISSER
This series of images, Hall of Giants, shows some of the oldest and largest elephant bulls in East Africa. Schmeisser’s intimate portraits of big tuskers were taken from a very short distance with medium-format cameras, without remote control or long lenses. This shot, Mudbath IV, was taken in Kenya in 2010.
CRAIG PARRY
Craig Parry is an award-winning Australian nature, adventure, and documentary photographer. With The Oceania Collection he captured the beauty of the natural world beneath the waves. He sought too to raise awareness of the oceans’ fragile ecosystems. Here, a humpback ascends from the depths.
NEIL LEIFER
Neil Leifer’s captivating exhibition, In Pursuit of Gold, showcased his images from five decades of the Olympic Games. Here, Nadia Comaneci of Romania is on the balance beam at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Comaneci was the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10.
