Migration and trauma photos shortlisted at London's V&A Museum

Twelve photographers who document indigenous people, conflict and childhood have made the cut for the prize

A photo by photographer Federico Rios Escobar showing a migrant resting while trekking from Colombia to Panama has been shortlisted for a prize at the V&A Museum in London. Photo: Federico Rios EscobaShow more

A powerful photo depicting an exhausted migrant resting on a riverside in Latin America has been shortlisted for an award at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

The image was captured by Colombian photographer Federico Rios Escobar as part of his Paths of Desperate Hope series.

His project documents the journey of migrants through the Darien Gap, a perilous stretch of jungle connecting Colombia to Panama.

Tens of thousands of migrants risk their lives each month to cross from South America into Central America in search of hope.

More than 330,000 people have made the 97 km trek so far this year, the highest annual figure recorded to date.

Escobar is one of 12 photographers to have had their work shortlisted for the Prix Pictet, the world’s leading photography prize in sustainability.

The shortlisted series features a diverse response to the theme "Human", exploring the plight of indigenous peoples, conflict, childhood, the collapse of economic processes, the traces of human habitation, gang violence, border lands and migration.

Escobar’s image, Hamlet Devastated, is up for the award.

He says that despite the heaviness of his work, he witnessed moments of light along the migrant trail, such as affection and warmth between strangers who share a common goal.

“Amid the horrors, we witnessed countless acts of kindness – people putting out a hand to help a stranger escape a fast-moving current, or breaking off pieces from the blocks of sugar they carried to share with fellow migrants,” he says.

The “Human” theme enables photographers to “shed light on critical issues affecting our planet and its inhabitants,” the organisers say. “From social injustices to environmental crises, exploring the human condition can serve as a powerful tool to raise awareness and inspire change.”

The photographers who made it onto the shortlist span 11 nationalities and document a wide range of topics. Among them are Hoda Afshar of Iran, Gera Artemova of Ukraine, Sian Davey from Britain, and Richard Renaldi from the United States.

Afshar’s work, titled Speak the Wind, shows a person wrapped in clothing, shielded against the elements.

It was captured on an island in the Strait of Hormuz, where according to local customs, there is a belief that people must be protected from “harmful winds”. It is said that they “may possess a person, causing her to experience illness or disease”.

Afshar noted there is a “corresponding ritual practice in which a hereditary cult leader speaks with the wind through the afflicted patient to negotiate its departure".

Mexican photographer Yael Martinez captured an image of a man, Abuelo Estrella, wearing a straw hat who is seen behind a veil of pinpricks.

“To make the images, I made prints and put pinpricks in the paper, then shone light through the holes and photographed them again,” he says.

“The pinpricks in the images are an analogy for trauma, and how we as human beings can transform bad energy and a bad situation and turn them into something positive, changing darkness into light.”

Isabelle von Ribbentrop, executive director of the Prix Pictet, now in its 10th year, says her team hopes to change and shape the planet’s future “through harnessing the power of photography”.

"Instead of the future of photography, I like to think about photography for the future,” she adds.

“The power of the image lies in its ability to foreground critical and urgent environmental issues in a visually impactful yet direct way. With every cycle, we see innovative ideas, narrative approaches as well as technical experimentations.”