World Press Photo 2019 Sydney Review

Post

Subscribe

Posted 2019-05-27 by Jade Jackson ⇒ follow

Sat 25 May 2019 - Sun 23 Jun 2019

To listen to an audio version of this article, read by the author, click on the play button below:

The World Press Photo 2019 Exhibition is on now at the State Library of NSW. It runs from 25th May-23rd June and [U]entry is free[/U].

Unsurprisingly, every image in the exhibition is iconic and tells a story. Each photo reaches deep into your soul, squeezes hard, and demands your undivided attention.

Some photographers you may know from magazines like National Geographic or the New Yorker, whilst others are freelancers, trying to earn a living, yet capturing history in the process.

As a travel photographer, I relish seeing and reading about the stories of people in distant countries but they're also a reminder that these images helped to instigate change and that gives one hope, that all is not lost, no matter how desperate or disparaging things may seem.

The World Press Photo of the Year 2019 was the iconic image by John Moore (for Getty Images) of a screaming toddler, as her mother, Sandra Sanchez was arrested by US border officials. A victim of the 'zero tolerance' policy on migrants. I've seen this image dozens of times, plastered across news websites but it still has the power to grab you and elicit anger and sadness.

This single photo caused a public outcry and so President Trump reversed his decision to separate children from their parents when arrested for trying to enter the US without the required documentation. Proof that a single photo can change history.

Other photos of the Migrant Caravan featured by Pieter Ten Hooper (for Agency VU/Civilian Act) won First Prize Stories. The below image resembles a scene from a zombie movie. But it's real, and it's easy to forget the stories of those so-called "illegal migrants" because they're over there, but as global warming makes more regions unliveable, mass migration is going to become a prominent feature making scenes like this, the norm rather than just something happening elsewhere.

A scene that potentially, we may find ourselves facing. Families, seeking a better life for their children, away from famine, fear of violence and corrupt governments. It's easy to think 'oh that will never happen here' but only recently, Venezuela was one of the richest countries in South America, now it's people are starving.

The World Press Photo has always delivered the stories that matter, including minority voices and stories of women, by women, giving a fair and unbiased view.

The following images are part of a set that tell a story, so you really need to see all of them, in order to understand the full story but some that stood out in this years exhibition included:

Photos capturing the abortion law reform in Ireland, by photographer by Olivia Harris.

The law in Tehran states women are not allowed to attend a football match. Photographer Forough Alaei captured a striking photo of a young woman attending a national football match disguised as a man, at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran. She risks arrest by going.

Photographer Sarah Blesener won First Prize, Long Term Projects, for her portrayal of the patriotic and militarization of education in America and Russia (with a focus on women). She wanted to bring about the discussion of what the impact of educating youth, with a focus on war, may have in the future.

The winner of the First Prize, Portraits, Singles was Finbarr O'Reilly for his photograph highlighting fashion designer Adama Paris from Dakar in Senegal. She was a driving force behind the Annual Dakar Fashion Week which includes an extravagant street show that is attended by thousands.

One of the most poignant images for me was the Third Prize Winner Environment, Singles by Mário Cruz of a small boy, asleep on a mattress on a pile of rubbish. It's the Pasig River in Manila and it's so polluted, you can walk across it. We may think that banning plastic bags in supermarkets or banning straws at our local cafe is saving the world, but we still have a long way to go as the Pasig River alone, releases up to 63,700 tons of plastic into the ocean each year. Proof that global problems require global solutions.

At a glance, the World Press Photo Exhibition can seem like an overwhelming display of the worst of humanity—an end of days that is already here, but then amongst it all; a warm happy photo of a girl, picking flowers as she walks towards her new life. It's then we're reminded that it's the little things that matter, and whilst we have those, it's not too late to have hope to change the bigger things.

The World Press Photo 2019 Exhibition is on now at the State Library of NSW on Macquarie St in Sydney. It's open the following times:

**Extended opening hours from 27 May to 21 June 2019
Monday to Friday: 9 am to 8 pm

On 7, 14 and 21 June, there will be a 'Friday Night Lates' series. Visitors to this series will gain access to the World Press Photo 2019 Exhibition and there will be an onsite DJ and bar.

Exhibitions standard opening hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 9 am to 5 pm
Thursday: 9 am to 8 pm
Saturday, Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm

You can purchase a catalogue of all the works from the library gift shop for $40. If you'd like to check the suitability of the exhibition for younger audiences, you can view the images online here .

For information on getting to the State Library, check their website here .

The library has been renovated since the exhibition was on last year and there are now several other exhibitions including an interactive audio tour (headphones supplied) and hundreds of paintings of early Australia.