Portfolio Builder
Download PDF

Joey L. – Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize

Il ritratto del giovane Strong Joe è valso a Joey L. il Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.

Strong Joe © Joey L.

Il giovane Joe fa parte della comunità di Tombohuaun, in Sierra Leone. Joey si è recato nel Paese dell’Africa Occidentale per scattare la campagna Untapped per Water Aid, la ONG che si occupa dell’accessibilità all’acqua potabile.  Il risultato non sono solo immagini dei problemi di una vita senz’acqua potabile a portata di rubinetto e delle imperanti malattie legate alla mancanza di questo bene, ma mette in luce la resilienza di questa comunità di 400 persone, la loro quotidianità, i loro legami, la struttura altamente organizzata e la loro etica del lavoro.

Portrait of family
Mayama Mustafa, 60, women’s leader and village midwife © Joey L .

Le foto di Joey catturano l’anima della comunità di Tombohuaun attraverso due tematiche: i personaggi che la compongono e il duro lavoro nelle piantagioni di olio di palma e nella pesca, attività divise equamente tra uomini e donne. Il nostro Joey era già stato in diverse parti dell’Africa: le esperienze pregresse gli hanno permesso di sfruttare fin da subito caratteristiche come gioielli, i volti dipinti o i vestiti dai motivi allegri.

man climbing palm tree
Momoh Babaga, 22, climbs a tree to collect palm kernels which will be processed © Joey L.
Girl braids hair to another girl
Iye Conteh, 19, braids her sister’s hair on the porch in front of the family home © Joey L.  
Matu, 40, the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun © Joey L.

Per alcuni di loro, Joey ha costruito insieme agli uomini della comunità un vero e proprio set sul luogo, con foglie gigantesche foglie di banano e di palme, in mezzo alla giungla, e un lenzuolo bianco usato come diffusore per la luce.

Lucy, 5, left, and Nancy, 6, best friends and cousins, with their homemade dolls in the village of Tombohuaun © Joey L.
portrait of a worker of palm tree
Tailu Yajah, brother of the village chief, with his tree climbing equipment and machete © Joey L.

La foto sarà esposta dal 18 al 21 ottobre 2018 alla National Portrait Gallery di Londra, insieme alle altre foto del progetto. Due delle immagini che compongono la sua mostra saranno esposte fino al 27 gennaio 2019 in una mostra collettiva.

Per maggiori informazioni riguardo le attività di Joey L., guarda il suo portfolio o contattaci.

is represented by Sudest57. For more information about his activities, contact us.

Related News

Joey L. – Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize

The portrait of the young Strong Joe won Joey L. the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.

Strong Joe © Joey L.

The young Joe is a member of the Tombohuaun community, in Sierra Leone. Joey went to the country of West Africa to shot his campaign Untapped for Water Aid, the NGO who deals with accessibility to drinking water. The result are not only the images about daily problems of a life without drinking water and the diseases connected to the shortage of this important good, but it highlights also tehe resilience of this community composed by 400 people, their daily life, their bonds, their highly organized structure and the work ethic.

Portrait of family
Mayama Mustafa, 60, women’s leader and village midwife © Joey L .

Joey’s images capture the spirit of the community of Tombohuaun through two themes: the people who composed this community and their hard work in the oil palm plantations and fishing, different activities equally distributed among men and women. Joey L. has already been in other parts of Africa: his previous experiences let him recognize and use for portraiting features as jewlery, faces painted or cloths with colorful pattern.

man climbing palm tree
Momoh Babaga, 22, climbs a tree to collect palm kernels which will be processed © Joey L.
Girl braids hair to another girl
Iye Conteh, 19, braids her sister’s hair on the porch in front of the family home © Joey L.  
Matu, 40, the life and soul of the village of Tombohuaun © Joey L.

For some of them, Joey has built in the middle of the jungle, together with the men of the community, a real set, with huge banana and palm leaves and a white sheet, used as light reflector.

Lucy, 5, left, and Nancy, 6, best friends and cousins, with their homemade dolls in the village of Tombohuaun © Joey L.
portrait of a worker of palm tree
Tailu Yajah, brother of the village chief, with his tree climbing equipment and machete © Joey L.

The photo will be shown from Oct. 18th to 21st 2018 to the National Portrait Gallery of London, together with the other photos of the project. Two of the images in the exhibition will be exposed until Jan. 27th 2019 in a group exhibition.

For more information about Joey L., see his portfolio or contact us.

is represented by Sudest57. For more information about his activities, contact us.

Related News