Faces of the Survivors
Anyone who did not experience the tsunami personally experienced the disaster via the media. But the images in the media were often superficial and focused on sensation, Mohamed Iqbal believes. Victims were not presented as individuals, but as pawns in the drama. ‘They were reduced to an element in a sensational and overwhelming visual presentation,’ says the photographer. With Faces of the Survivors (2005) he wants to reveal the true identity of the tsunami’s victims. He shows their faces, which bear the traces of the disaster, but at the same time radiate hope; ultimately, they have survived the disaster. Iqbal presents his photographs life-sized. By this he wants to emphasize their will to survive and the respect that he has for them as a photographer.
