Your Sunday Inspiration ✨

Adam Rouhana, Varvara Uhlik, My-Lan Hoang-Thuy and more ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Before Freedom Pt. 2 © Adam Rouhana. Courtesy TJ Boulting We first met Adam Rouhana at our [2023 Ones to Watch]( launch at Leica Gallery in London, where he was accompanied by writer and curator Amah-Rose Abrams. Fast-forward a year, and the pair were working on their first show together – and Rouhana’s first solo exhibition – Before Freedom at Frieze No.9 Cork Street. By that point, Rouhana’s photographs from Palestine had become some of the defining images of the post-07 October 2023 period, not because they added photojournalistic detail but because, when death seemed ubiquitous and neverending, they depicted Palestinian life. Rouhana’s project is “an act of questioning received image-streams” of graphic suffering from the region, writes Adam Heardman in his interview with the artist below. Before being exhibited in London, Rouhana’s Before Freedom photographs had been published in The New York Times (at a moment when humanised portrayals of Palestinians were relatively rare in the US establishment media); and had been included in a Palestinian-themed collatoral show of this year’s [Venice Biennale]( which largely chose to ignore the conflict or address it only via allusion. And so beyond Rouhana’s skill as an image-maker and storyteller, his images have come to symbolise the western art and photography world’s limited – but improving – engagement with the harsh realities of Palestinian existence today. Rouhana’s new exhibition, Before Freedom Pt. 2: The Revolution Cannot Be Built On Dreams Alone at London’s TJ Boulting is a further step. Bedouin architect Lobna Sana’s curation emphasises the shadows in Rouhana’s work, preventing any single image from being elevated to symbolic or ‘hero’ status. (The exposure that virality promises is countered by an inevitable loss of context). The shadows “refigure representation as a modality of time”, Heardman writes, allowing Rouhana to move beyond certain image-streams and towards an imagined post-war future. To dream is one of the exhibition’s clearest invitations. The work is on show until 22 June. In other news, we saw lots of exciting work last week, with BJP editor Diane Smyth participating in Photo Meet in London, Ravi Ghosh reviewing portfolios at Fotofestiwal Łódź and Bluecoat Press head of publishing Tom Booth Woodger supporting the University of the West of England’s photography master’s graduates for their show in Peckham. There will be more opportunities like this for artists in the near future as we expand the BJP Workshops programme, so stay tuned. In the meantime, congratulations to the winners of Portrait of Humanity Vol. 6, who were announced last week, and a reminder to submit your work to Portrait of Britain Vol. 7 through the usual channels. Adam Rouhana – a searchlight in the Palestinian diaspora The Boston artist’s Before Freedom series has captured the minds of gallery goers and activists alike [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( © Sani Nuhu, Portrait of Humanity Vol. 6 winner Discover the Portrait of Humanity Vol. 6 winners and shortlist Now in its sixth year, the Portrait of Humanity award returns to remind us of our shared essence. This week we announced the shortlisted photographers and the 30 winning single images and three bodies of work, presenting a collection of photographs from all corners of the world that highlight the ubiquitous experiences uniting us during times of division [Learn more]( [Build the way you want]( My-Lan Hoang-Thuy questions beauty standards by channelling the female form The [One to Watch]( discusses her early influences, perceptions of the nude, and her transition from graphic designer to image-maker [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( In a time of war, how to process the trauma of Soviet rule? Now studying in London, the Ukrainian [One to Watch]( Varvara Uhlik uses food and animation to explore Slavic identity [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( Nature and identity in the work of Teva Cosic Born on unceded land in Australia, and growing up in a multicultural household, [One to Watch]( Teva Cosic developed a delicate sensitivity to the human and natural factors that make up our environment [Read more]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [1854 Media Ltd, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London, E2 9DA, United Kingdom Click here to update your email preferences]( [Click here to unsubscribe from all emails](