John Stanmeyer recently spoke to CLOSER about his image of African migrants trying to get a phone signal, which became the winner of World Press Photo 2013, and is now on display at the Orient Foundation in Macau.
“I was walking along the beach in Djibouti city at night, along the Red Sea, and came across this group of people with their phones in the air. I asked my friend/translator what they were doing”, John Stanmeyer tells CLOSER.
The American photographer won the 57th annual World Press Photo Contest with this iconic image, which is the highlight of the exhibition now being shown at Casa Garden, the Macau Orient Foundation building.
“He said they were Somali’s trying to catch a Somali phone signal on their mobile phones, 30 to 50 kilometers away, as a means of connecting to their loved ones back home”, continues the photographer.
The image convinced the jury to give Illinois-born Stanmeyer the 'World Press Photo of the Year’ award. Djibouti, where the photo was taken, is a common stop-off point for migrants in transit from countries such as Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, seeking a better life in Europe or the Middle East.
“Immediately I felt the weight and measure of what was happening — our present day migration in hope of a better life and the natural desire in all of us to keep connected to our families”, says Stanmeyer about the specific moment when he saw the group of migrants raising their phones to the dark sky. “However, there is no means to know it’s [the photo] impact or feeling to others until seen.”
Stanmeyer has been working in Africa for around two decades, “though not exclusively”. Over the last ten years, he has worked with National Geographic. Between 1998 and 2008, he had a contract with Time magazine, during which time he photographed the war in Afghanistan, the fight for independence in East Timor, the fall of Suharto in Indonesia, and other relevant world news events.
Now, winning 1st Prize in the 'Contemporary Issues’ category of World Press Photo, John describes this image captured for National Geographic as “a photograph of all of us”.
Looking at the migration phenomenon nowadays, Stanmeyer sees it “in many ways no different than our ancestors – migrating for resources, opportunities, etc.”
“The trouble today is we have the ability to make monumental changes, allowing people across the globe to stay comfortably, where they live in a life filled with opportunity and hope”, he believes. “Yet power, corruption, climate change and a host of other issues plague our global society, forcing us to migrate in ways that are often sinister (trafficking), dangerous and often met with rejection once in a new land,” he adds.
Alongside John Stanmeyer’s work, many other winning photos from the 57th World Press Photo Contest are being exhibited in Macau until October 31, selected from more than 90,000 images submitted to the contest.
WORLD PRESS PHOTO
Casa Garden,
Praça Luís de Camões, 13 Macau
11-31 October 2014
Sun: 14.00 – 18.00
Mon: Closed
Tue – Sat : 10.00 – 19.00
