In his photo essay “A Star in the Sky” photographer Thomas Lekfeldt accompanied the Danish girl Vibe and her family. Vibe was diagnosed with a cerebral tumor at the age of five and died two years later. In sensitive and intimate images Lekfeldt documents a family life between hospitalizations and chemotherapy, joy and sorrow, hope and despair. Capturing this plethora of emotions without the intention of being tear-jerking, Thomas Lekfeldt presented a very touching and emotional series.

Selected by Sophia Greiff on August 24, 2010

It hasn’t been so long since Kabul was considered an open-minded metropolis. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Afghan capital was a popular stop on the hippie trail to southern Asia. Now, after thirty years of occupation and war, Afghanistan is struggling to reestablish its identity. Residents are pessimistic about the future. Rebuilding the city drags on, and the constant fear of new attacks has shaken people’s trust in NATO forces. “Crossing Kabul” is a portrait of today’s Kabul where, far from the fighting, normality is slow to return. German photographer Daniel Pilar focuses on everyday situations caught between tradition, Western influence and social progress.

Selected by Sophia Greiff on August 11, 2010

Two photo series from Iraq by Julie Adnan. The first, Born In Prison, shows women with their young children, photographed in prison in Erbil, Iraq. The second shows installations made with survivors of the 1988 gassing of Halabja, using photographs of their deceased family members.

Selected by Yumi Goto on July 9, 2010

Philippines documentary photographer Tammy David: Two years ago, I was shocked to learn that my law school bound friend was training to join the National beauty pageant. “Is she crazy? Is she bored? Is she broke? There is actually a beauty queen boot camp?” For a long time I had thought only pretty people who wanted fame and fortune would dare to participate in such a spectacle. And like with anything else that intrigued me, I picked up my camera and started to look for answers.

Selected by Yumi Goto on June 27, 2010

Indonesian photographer Veronica F. Wijaya: “When the tsunami hit Aceh, Indonesia in 2004, a hundred thousand people died and tens of thousand houses were destroyed. It wiped out the infrastructure, making the region inhabitable. In Teluk Dalam, South of Nias, life hasn’t changed by the tsunami for the family in these photographs. They had been living in a shack, and reconstructed it, seeing no reason to move to a tent camp for homeless and displaced people. They preferred the relative comfort of their slum house. These photographs document what their living conditions are like.

Selected by Yumi Goto on June 21, 2010

Zhang Xiao: “Behind this ostentatious city, there is always grief and tears, indifference and cruelty. I met them by chance and I longed to understand each of their lives and experiences. What were they thinking in the moment that these photographs were taken? Perhaps everyone has a different answer, and perhaps they have no answer at all. What was I thinking when I photographed them? I have no answer either. Because I am one of them, I am also indifferent. Perhaps our daily lives are all absurd.”

Selected by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre on June 18, 2010

Wang Huan, winner of the Three Shadows Photography Award’s Shiseido Prize: In the small town of Zhuantang near Hangzhou, lives a group of simple, decent people. It was this simplicity that moved me and made me want to record their lives and engage in this narration about life’s vicissitudes. By using a camera to catch this simplicity, I also achieved my artistic intention. As a result, I often walked around Zhuantang’s streets and alleys with my “toy camera,” keeping my “image diary”, my “alley graffiti.”

Selected by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre on June 13, 2010

Yamalike Mountain lies in the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The Urumqi Train Station stands at the foot of the mountain, with the railroad tracks forming a border of sorts. Yamalike Mountain is Urumqi’s main shanty-town, and people call it the slums. Tens of thousands of migrant or semi-migrant Uighur, Hui, Han, and Kyrghiz people live there. The mountain is their home, and the city below is the place where they try to make a living and pursue their dreams. Drawn there by destiny, I started taking photographs of this wild and lively mountain by chance. I became captivated by these pure, unaffected and dirty children.

Selected by Three Shadows Photography Art Centre on June 12, 2010

The portraits of Brazilian domestic servants confront both, master and servant, two environments and two characters, the world of reality and dreams. In many of the photographs it’s as if a dividing line has emerged, separating the two very different lives. A sensitive and deep portrayal of the relations with respect to those being photographed emerged, even though Balco’s sense of humor, exaggeration, and even sarcasm are on display. The portraits impress with their dignity and are at the same time monumental. The selected photographs are connected to stories, acquainting us with two different worlds: the luxury of the middle class and the common Latin-American standard.

Selected by Patricia Gouvea on June 2, 2010

Daniele Dacorso: “I have been photographing “Baile Funk” parties in favelas (slums) and suburbs of Rio de Janeiro for ten years now. Baile Funk music mixes American funk from the 70’s with samba rhythms and contemporary rap and the lyrics commonly make explicit references to sex, drugs and violence. As an observer of Baile Funk, I have always been fascinated by the choreographies, the catharsis and the seduction games between boys and girls, the audience and the artists on stage and the way they mix sex and humour into lyrics and dance.”

Selected by Patricia Gouvea on May 28, 2010