Picture Series

A formative moment in my career would be my first trip to Iran in 2013. I was working on a project about creative disobedience in the art world. It was a fantastic experience both personally and as a visual journalist. I was fully immersed in an underground world, documenting the lives of young artists of Tehran, the capital city. I felt privileged to be granted me access to their intimacy, knowing how hard and repressive the Islamic regime can be with artists. The result was a beautiful reportage that was widely published and got great media attention across the world.

I came across the Bruisers in early 2018 through an algorithm on Instagram! Intrigued by their unique journey, I went to Berlin to meet this original genesis. This was followed in June 2018 by a trip to Amsterdam, home to the Bingham Cup – the equivalent of the World Cup of gay rugby – as well as two other trips to Berlin during which I forged closer links with some of the players who became the protagonists of this story. I decided to cover the Bruisers because they shake up the very concept of heteronormativity and compel us to reflect on the question of the representation of masculinity in society.

I hope that the visual journalism of the future will not be only technology-driven. Technology is a wonderful tool and a great door opener but it can also be misleading. Nothing will ever replace a good narrative and a well-written visual story. The great “visual journalists of tomorrow” are the ones working presently in creating multidisciplinary works that inspire us beyond their photographic skills but for the values they convey. I believe visual journalism will become more and more intimate, finding its balance between objective reporting and first-person narrative.