BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

What struck me immediately as I stepped into Colombo’s Arcade Independence Square hosting the World Press Photo Exhibition 2024 was Anne Ranasinghe’s Vivere in Pace in which the poet expounds:

‘You are reviewing an art, not the emotion

that caused it to blossom,

judging technique, design, effect.’

The fine capturing of myriad emotions in the winning photographs from six regions of the world is such that a Lankan viewer is driven to stop and ponder beyond the technique, design and effect; of physical and emotional scars inflicted on fellow humans transcending geographical, ethnic and religious boundaries. Back in 1980 when Anne Ranasinghe penned her poem, the nearest, us Lankans ‘have been to violent death was on the cinema screen’. Today, for many of us Lankans, the horrors of Gaza frozen on a lens, have become a collective experience…

World Press Photo Foundation

Based in Amsterdam, The World Press Photo Foundation established in 1955, is a global platform connecting photojournalists, documentary photographers and audiences worldwide through trustworthy storytelling. The foundation organizes the much sought-after World Press Photo Contest which recognizes and celebrates the best photojournalism and documentary photography across the world and connects the world to the stories that matter, promoting understanding and empathy across cultures.

World Press Photo Exhibition 2024 features the winning entries of its 67^th edition. The 24 winners, six honorable mentions and two jury special mentions were selected by an independent jury of 31 eminent professionals around the world, out of 61,062 entries by 3,851 photographers from 130 countries. The exhibition which is now on a world-wide tour is presently touring here at home and is organised by the Netherlands Embassy in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI). This year’s exhibition is also significant, marking its return to the island after more than two decades. It last toured here in 2003.

A collective memory of the world

Commenting on the award-winning entries capturing critical social and environmental issues, human experiences and global stories, Bonnie Horbach, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Sri Lanka remarked at the press briefing announcing the exhibition: “Each photograph carries a story with it and makes us reflect on the events that happened. While some pictures are based on themes of war and suffering, others bring hope and joy. These photographs form a collective memory of the world and through these images, the stories of hundreds of photographers witnessing world events are being told to us. I believe that showcasing global issues through press photography will no doubt spark engagement and discussion. Looking through the lens of a photographer can help societies and people reflect on their own opinion and perception, as well as spark social change.”

From devastating conflicts and political upheaval to the climate crisis and the safe passage of migrants, the award-winning works documents some of the most pressing issues facing the world today. In bringing together such important stories, the selection encourages greater understanding and awareness of current events and serves as a reminder of the need for press freedom in all corners of the world. Since 2021, the contest has embraced a regional strategy, ensuring greater geographical and cultural diversity among participating photographers.

Over the years, the categories into which photos were grouped in the contest have evolved. Category names, focus and classifications have changed over the decades, and the 2022 Contest saw a shift once again, to be more globally representative with four format-based categories: Singles, Stories, Long-Term Projects, and Open Format, for each of the six global regions.

Beyond visual imagery

The World Press Photograph of the Year by Mohammed Salem titled ‘A Palestinian woman embraces the body of her niece’ is a heart-wrenching image of Inas Abu Maamar cradling her five-year-old niece who was killed along with her mother and sister when as Israeli missile struck their home in Khan Younis, Gaza. The photo taken by Salem for Reuters just days after his own wife gave birth is a ‘powerful and sad moment that sums up the broader sense of what was happening in the Gaza Strip’. Salem, a photojournalist based in the Gaza Strip, found Inas squatting on the ground, embracing the child, at the Nasser Hospital morgue where residents were going to search for missing relatives.

World Press Photo Story of the Year ‘Valim-babena’ is a thought-provoking entry which is testimony to power of photography beyond its visual appeal. The photograph which depicts Dada Paul and his granddaughter Odliatemix getting ready to go to church in Antananario, Madagascar looks an ordinary photo of a grandfather and a granddaughter at first glance. Yet, the story behind it illustrates the Malagasy principle of valim-babena– the duty of grown children to help their parents.

Paul Rakotozandriny, ‘Dada Paul’ (91) has lived with dementia for 11 years, and is cared for by his daughter Fara Rafaraniriana (41). For nine of those years, no-one knew Dada Paul was ill. His ten children assumed he had “gone mad” or attributed the symptoms to excessive alcohol consumption. Only his daughter Fara noticed something different when her father, a retired chauffeur, couldn’t find his way home after picking her up from work one day. She had never heard of the terms dementia or Alzheimer’s, but was advised to contact Masoandro Mody, the only organization in Madagascar that provides support and training to family members of people living with dementia. The organization provided her the knowledge and support she needed to care for Dada Paul.

Australian-based photographer Eddie Jim’s ‘Fighting, Not Sinking’ which clinched ‘Singles’ category from Southeast Asia and Oceania portrays Lotomau Fiafia, a community elder who stands with his grandson John at the point where he remembers the shoreline used to be when he was a boy in Salia Bay, Kioa Island in Fiji. Experiences of individuals like Lotomau provide first-hand insight into the consequences of rising sea levels on people’s ways of life. His story emphasizes the magnitude of change that has taken place in just one lifetime and makes the climate change crisis tangible to a wider audience.

Mirror of global events

Speaking to Sunday Island at the opening of the exhibition, Exhibitions Manager and Curator of World Press Photo, Martha Echevarria Gonzalez remarked: “what is exciting about this event is that we can start conversations, open up dialogues on topics that people will find difficult to talk about and this global effort can become a mirror of what happened in the world in the past few years.” Gonzalez who is on her maiden visit to the island also noted that the exhibition’s return to the island after more than 20 years is an encouragement for local photographers to get insights and to have more submissions in coming years. “The winning entries also speak for the fact that the event recognizes talent from under-served regions,” she added.

Benchmarking with global standards

Urging more local submission for 2025 edition of World Press Photo, Chief Executive Officer of the SLPI, Kumar Lopez remarked that the touring exhibition is an eye-opener for both our photojournalists and editors to take a wider angle in capturing photos in a different light. “For example, ‘stories’ category urges photojournalists to capture not just a single event, but a series which tells serious stories which can help address certain society norms, issues and challenges and build a better society.” Lopez went onto note that photography has expanded beyond mainstream media into social media platforms enabling photo enthusiasts to build their own brands while visually narrating stories that matter. Lopez also remarked that continuous training in photography and dialogues with internationally reputed photojournalists, facilitated by SLPI gives a fillip to local talent to benchmark themselves with global standards.

Students of photography at the SLPI, Dinushkar Premkumar and Dilushi Wijesinghe applauded the initiative to be a tool of widening their horizons. A budding photojournalist, Dilushi, while encouraging more women to take up serious photojournalism noted that events such as World Press Photo provides insights into new techniques as well as ethics in photojournalism. “The winning entries which depict survivors of sexual violence for example, offers understanding of ethical portrayal of them while creating critical dialogue on social evils.” She also remarked that unconventional story-telling through photography deserves more space in local mainstream media.

The World Press Photo Exhibition which was inaugurated in Colombo on Jan 10, will be at the Arcade Independence Square till Monday Jan 20 and will return to Colombo on Saturday, February 8 – 10 at The Forum, Cinnamon Life. It will be open in Jaffna from Jan 24 to 27 (at the Jaffna Cultural Centre) and in Galle from Jan 31 to February 2 (Galle Municipal Hall). The exhibition will be open to public from 10.30 am to7 pm at all above locations.

Pic credit: World Press Photo