Category: Photo Stories

Flaviana Frascogna

This is an ongoing work on adolescents who spared the physical consequences of Covid-19 but not its psychological fallout. Younger people are living in a constant state of alarm that is changing their way of approaching life, due to both the restrictions applied to contain the contagion and the continuous exposure to the fear of death and of disease which could lead to a worsening of anxiety and depression.

The quarantine and the containment measures denied to young people the opportunity to socialize, except through technological channels that cannot replace the real world, neglecting the fragility that is typical of this age.

The project consists of a series of portraits and pictures of places and details of the adolescents’ world. I am asking each subject to answer two questions:

– What do you need?

– What are you afraid of?

I am collecting these answers with audio files in order to in order to associate them to the pictures.

“I am a very rational person and I have had so many difficulties during my growth to try to get rid of all the emotions I feel and that I always tend to hide. I believe that although in some people the virus doesn’t physically settle, it is as if we were all having it and this brought me moods. Often I feel like crying, I feel sad in some moments. I’m aware that these things derive from an anxiety that the virus created in me and that it isn’t something true. The need I have is to regain possession of those true emotions that I felt before and I was able to manifest that now I don’t feel to be part of me. I‘m afraid of getting used to this new reality that in some ways I could define “more comfortable” for me. It is important not to forget that a video call with a friend can never replace a walk and a four-eyed chat. The pace of life that we have assumed is poor in commitments, comparisons and I am afraid of being trapped in this reality. We must remember that this is an extraordinary situation and it scares me to think that I will not be able to face life anymore”.

Francesca, 22 years old

“The thing I fear most is perhaps the distrust and the state of insecurity in which we find ourselves. I don’t know what is really going on around us and I find myself suddenly disconnected from the rest of the world. We find ourselves in a situation in which we are no longer given the opportunity to think of anything other than the contagion of Covid-19. The thing I need most is the contact with people already known and new people. I need to know and explore the world and meet new people. This is what I miss most about life before Covid -19″.

Ines, 19 years old

“With the quarantine I solved a lot of problems I had with myself. I was afraid of loneliness, now not anymore. But I’m starting to be colder and more apathetic in good relationships with people. I don’t want to talk to anyone, to face serious conversations with people except with those few that I want to hear every day. I am afraid that these sensations could mark my future ”.

Viola, 18 years old

“I have never been a model student but the school marked my days. Now I feel lost. Following the online lessons I think my life is much more chaotic. I’m afraid of the quarantine. The thought of not being able to go out when I want makes me feel very bad.”

Saya, 16 years old

“The thing I need is certainty. I have only anxieties and anguish. I don’t know what job I will be able to do when I finish my studies. I am always in the same place and my life has become very monotonous. I need to go to new places, to do different activities, to meet new people.”

Dafne, 20 years old

“My biggest concern is knowing nothing about when we will return to normal life, to the life I knew. And if everything will be the same. I need to get out of the house, to see my friends, to go to school. In short, I need to live.”

Fabrizio, 16 years old

Flaviana Frascogna
http://www.flavianafrascogna.com/
https://www.instagram.com/flavianafrascogna/

Una Skandro

Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, located in the Western Balkans. As everywhere in the world, it is prescribed to wear a mask. This, to me as a photographer, is an historical film moment. And so I decided to make a photo film story for him in which the main actor is a mask. The photos were taken after 45 days of quarantine. On my instagram page whose link I put in the email you can see the whole story about Covid -19 in Belgrade.

The biggest social injustice during the quarantine was that we were closed for four days every week for 24 hours. After 45 days of such a life, I can freely say that people were lost when their right to free movement was finally restored. On the other hand, everyone tried in their own way to adhere to social distances and protection measures. Freedom of movement was restored to us, but again we were all alone. – Una Skandro

Una Skandro
https://tismaskandro.wixsite.com/tismaskandro
#tismaskandrophotography
@SkandroTisma

Avishkar Chhetri

After an arbitrary census was held in Bhutan (1989), the government of Bhutan displaced approximately 100,000 Southern Bhutanese (Lhotshampas) out of Bhutan. There are several explanations for the expulsion/displacement as well as the conflict between the Lhotshampa and the Northern government, which a series of protests in the late 80s were held within the country against the government’s repressive ‘One Nation One People’ policy; illegalising Nepali/Lhotshampa cultural practices under the social code of conduct: Driglam Namzha.
After the initial civil unrest in 1991, thousands of Lhotshampa Bhutanese arrived at the border of in Eastern Nepal from West Bengal, India by foot and trucks. By the mid-1990s these Bhutanese refugees had increased to the rough estimates of 100,000 individuals. As a response to the crisis after conflict with the continuously collapsing Nepali government, Bhutanese officials stated the Bhutanese refugees were, in fact, opportunistic economic-migrants rather than vulnerable refugees they self-claim to be. Thus the Bhutanese government has not repatriated the refugees.
Since their exodus, individuals have reports of torture, murder, arrests and rapes during the late 80s to early 90s in Bhutan. Furthermore, many of the individuals have remained as refugees within Eastern Nepal or India for over two decades to either look for repatriation or simply to find peaceful residency in their refuge. Whereas many refugees have resettled into third-nations to find a better life from their traumatic experiences.
As of today the Bhutanese government has not repatriate the displaced group in totality and continues to deny the legitimacy of their vulnerability and refugee status. As a consequence of lack of pictorial evidence, caused by the unavailability of video, photo or audio records, there is little evidence of the events that lead to the exodus other than personal accounts, and it remains a serious question of Bhutan’s dark past in isolation from the rest of the world.
All information here is based on the accounts of the government of Bhutan, the international communities, third-party witnesses, refugees and scholars. Any misinformation presented on this website will be removed as appropriate.

Avishkar Chhetri
http://theperipheralpeople.com/

Wamaitha Ng’ang’a

‘Speak Out’ is an ongoing photography project on women, survivors of domestic violence. Following the changes in in the UK of the 2013 legislation on domestic violence, where the definition of ‘domestic violence’  broadened to encompass different types of abuses, including financial, physical, psychological, sexual or emotional, the project ‘Speak Out’ highlights and raises awareness of those layers to many women in order for them to access a much needed help. Domestic abuse still remains a taboo across many cultures.  Through her photographic project. Wamaitha brings to light the voices of women who have taken a stand and broken the silence about their personal experiences of domestic abuse and its devastating effects – and the journey to move forward, not as victims but survivors.  Wamaitha will speak about the ‘Speak Out’ project on the 4th February 2019 in the next Photojournalism Hub Debate event.

Wamaitha Ng’ang’a
www.wamaithanganga.com

Adam Isfendiyar

Master – An Ainu Story’ tells the the life story of an Ainu man – Kenji Matsuda, who grew up being discriminated against in his own land because of his Ainu heritage and gives a rare insight into the life of the indigenous people of northern Japan. There is very little documentation on the Ainu in English and few Japanese know much about them. It is thought that there may be up to 200 000 people of Ainu descent living in Japan today, but due to the history of discrimination against them only 10 percent of that number will admit to having Ainu roots. This exhibition looks at the personal story of a man who carried the legacy of shame from his grandparents generation and has tried to help revitalise this deep and rich culture that the Japanese government attempted to eliminate at the end of the 19th century.  

The exhibition ‘Master- An Ainu Story’ is currently showing at The Brunei Gallery, SOAS in London until 15th December. Open everyday except Sunday & Monday from 10:30am – 5pm, and until 8pm on Thursdays.

Adam Isfendiyar
#adamisfendiyar
www.adamisfendiyar.com

Quintina Valero

In April 2015 I travelled to Ukraine to document the long-lasting implications of Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster for both the environment and the people 30 years after the disaster. The Chernobyl’s accident seems to have been forgotten by society. I wanted to give a voice to the lives of those carrying on with the poisonous legacy of Chernobyl. In my first trip, I visited the 30 km exclusion zone where around 200 people are still living. For my research I interviewed doctors working at the National Institute Cancer Research in Ukraine, NGOs working with victims of Chernobyl and scientists who are studying the DNA modifications both in plants and human beings. I become very interested in remote areas, which are still contaminated by radiation and where people have limited access to hospitals and doctors.

“Life after Chernobyl” portrays life both inside the 30 Km exclusion zone and Narodichi region, 50 km  southwest of the nuclear plant. This turned out to be one of the worst hit areas by radiation but only detected five years later. With my collective “Food of war” we are helping to raise awareness of the Chernobyl’s accident through European exhibitions, talks and conferences. We have also collaborated with artists reflecting on the consumption of food in countries where radiation travelled after the 1986’s accident. Life after Chernobyl is an ongoing project that I would like to develop into a book and a short film.

To know more or would like to support this ongoing project, please follow this link: 

Quintina Valero
https://www.quintinavalero.com
@QuintinaV
#quintinavalero/

by Morgan Markey

‘Women of the Market’ is a photo-essay that documents the daily lives of the women that run the Vietnamese marketplace. I wanted to highlight the grit, grime, strength and beauty of the women that provide for their families. Their relentless work ethic and acute knowledge of the wet market is expressed in these photographs. 

Morgan Markey
Photographer 
www.mvmarkey.com
@morganvmarkey