Phodar Biennial

06/07/2026

The first day of Phodar at Arles.

A lot of exhibitions and inspiring encounters...

06/07/2026

The first day of PHODAR in Arles.

A day full of exhibitions, conversations and impressions. Seeing the work of artists like Martine Barrat and Ming Smith reminded me why Arles remains one of the world’s most inspiring photography festivals.

Everywhere you look, people are carrying cameras. Nothing seems to stay unnoticed here.

You watch Arles. Arles watches you. 👀

ContemporaryPhotography

29/06/2026

Carolina Dutca and Valentin Sidorenko
No Man's Wedding

Some stories don't depict war—they transform it into a ritual.

In No Man's Wedding, Carolina Dutca and Valentin Sidorenko build a surreal universe where symbols, myths, and folk traditions merge into a haunting allegory of conflict, life, and death.

19/06/2026

PHODAR 2025 | Ricardo Lopes

What remains when the land that once fed a community becomes a source of gold?

Blessed Ground examines the impact of international gold mining near rural communities in Mozambique. Deprived of fertile lands, locals turned to artisanal mining, relying on income from gold panning despite limited job opportunities and a lack of restitution.

Mining has deepened poverty, weakened social structures, and led to issues such as gender-based violence. Hazardous chemicals like mercury and cyanide contaminate water, harming both human health and local ecosystems.

Ricardo Lopes is one of the photographers selected for Phodar Biennial 2025.

Follow us to discover more authors from this year's edition and stay tuned for the announcement of the theme for the next edition of Phodar Biennial.

18/06/2026

The Hidden

When I first started taking photography seriously, I wanted to be one of those people who always managed to “capture the moment.” It felt a bit like taking part in a giant visual lottery. You find the right place, filled with interesting events, press the shutter, and make the great photograph. To improve my chances, I gravitated toward wide-angle lenses, hoping to fit more into the frame.

Over the years, however, I began to notice the weaknesses of this approach. The more you try to see, the less likely it becomes that everything will fall into place the way you want. And when, by some miracle, everything is arranged according to the rules, the photograph often ends up feeling predictable and dull.

That made me wonder where I was going wrong, and what distinguished the photography I admired from my own. One thing stood out to me more than anything else: it was not the power to show, but the power to hide.

Everything a photographer reveals is objectively there, visible and tangible. What they choose to conceal, however, is where the personal story begins. It is the seed from which the viewer’s imagination grows.

Like in a word game, the photographer offers a single letter. If the riddle is compelling enough, the viewer begins building words around it.

Sometimes entire stories.

Text:

Photography:

08/03/2026

Вярно.

photography art samples

27/02/2026