204 - Ivor Prickett
After taking a degree in Documentary Photography at the University of Wales, Newport, Ivor Prickett began working in Europe and the Middle East, striving to convey and denounce the effects of war on the civilian population – on the people whose lives it ravages and uproots, whatever side they may be on. Initially focused on the private, domestic sphere of war’s long-term social and humanitarian consequences, Ivor’s gaze has shifted over the years towards places of forced migration and lands where people seek refuge, and then to the front lines of combat zones.
His early projects focused on stories of displaced people throughout the Balkans and Caucasus. Based in the Middle East since 2009, Ivor documented the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Libya, working simultaneously on editorial assignments and his own long term projects. In 2012 he was selected for the World Press Photo Joop swart Masterclass, named as a FOAM Talent and selected by PDN for their 30 under 30 list.
Travelling to more than ten countries between 2012 and 2015 Ivor documented the Syrian refugee crisis in the region as well as Europe, working closely in collaboration with UNHCR to produce a comprehensive study of the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.
Most recently Ivor’s work has focused on the fight to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Ultimately working exclusively for the The New York Times he spent months on the ground, particularly covering the Battle of Mosul, reporting in both words and pictures. His work in Iraq and Syria has earned him multiple World Press Photo Awards and in 2018 he was named as a Pulitzer finalist. The entire body of work titled End of the Caliphate was released as a book by renowned German publisher Steidl in June 2019.
Ivor’s work has been recognised through a number of prestigious awards including The World Press Photo, The Pulitzer Prizes, The Overseas Press Club Awards, Pictures of the Year International, The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and The Ian Parry Scholarship. Most recently he was shortlisted for the Prix Pictet 2019 cycle and his work is currently touring the globe as part of the group exhibition.
His pictures have been exhibited widely at institutions such as The Victoria and Albert Museum, Sothebys, Foam Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery, London and he currently has a major solo show at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy, In conjunction with the 2023 Fotografia Europea festival, for which the theme is Europe Matters: Visions of a Restless Identity. Ivor’s show and the corresponding book is entitled No Home from War: Tales of Survival and Loss and features over fifty photographs taken in conflict zones from 2006 to 2022. It is the the largest show of Ivor’s work to date, the first in italy, and it will be up until 30th July 2023.
Ivor is represented by Panos Pictures in London and he is a European Canon Ambassador.
In episode 203, Ivor discusses, among other things:
- His route to Newport and what he got from going there.
- How he got started and his strategy to get his work seen.
- Arab Spring 2011 and the lessons learned from that.
- Branching out and needing to get closer to the source.
- Mosul.
- The NYT and being asked to write.
- Going through times of wanting to quit.
- What keeps him doing it.
- Is an art gallery the right place for photojournalism?
- Can your work have an impact?
- Ukraine.
- Processing the witnessing of horror and adjusting to normal life.
- AI and its implications for photojournalism.
Referenced:
- Christine Redmond
- Joe Stirling
- Ken Grant
- Clive Landon
- Cheryl Newman
- Tim Hetherington
- Chris Hondros
- David Furst
“By the time it came to the ISIS work in Iraq and Syria, it was almost like I wanted to get closer to the source myself and see up close what it was I’d been investigating all these years and what people had been running from. Maybe it was a personal fascination that led me there to a certain extent, but also Mosul was essentially a humanitarian crisis as much as a war, and that’s why I went in the first place. ”