Since Mahsa Amini’s violent death in September 2022, many women have dared to rebel against the official state rules of conduct. In her series, the Iranian photographer (born 1989) portrays young Iranian women who live the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom,” with confidence. Whether dancer, restaurant manager, motorbike racer, car mechanic or stunt woman: a new generation of young women is visibly fighting for their rights.

The series centres around the many years of conflict that have ravaged the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, stretching along the southeast of the Lesser Caucasus. It was an area predominantly inhabited by Armenians, until they fled in September 2023. The photographer shows the threats, displacement and uncertain future of the families she portrays. Babajanyan was born in Armenia, in 1983, and lives in Germany. Her work has received numerous awards and she is a member of Agency VII.

Born in 1993, the British photojournalist and her series follow the 1,900 kilometres of the River Tigris – from its source in Turkey, all the way to its mouth in Iraq. Garthwaite examines political loyalties, ethnic ties, national borders and the changing geography. The river is on the brink of an environmental disaster which will affect roughly 30 million people who live in the river’s catchment area, threatening the region’s cultural heritage.

Many children in Moldova grow up without parents. Due to economic reasons, about one quarter of the population has left the country in the last twenty years. The starting point for the series is the Moldovan photographer’s own story. Born in 1996, she grew up with her grandparents. The outcome is a poetic search for roots, for a home, the meaning of which changes, time and again – even in the understanding of the children.

Born in Russia, in 1990, and currently living in Berlin, the photographer’s project was produced from 2019 to 2023, and offers insight into the as-yet-unresolved conflict in the South Caucasus. In August 2008, Russia stationed troops in neighbouring Georgia, and declared the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Considering the war in Ukraine, the series asks fundamental questions about the future of this region and the consequences for the people living there.

For many people, daily life is defined by a constant sensory overload. Born in 1980, the Brazilian photographer presents a series of empty public spaces, which he sees as metaphors for the overwhelming excess of information, which people are unable to process. Lenci describes the state of an era that is characterised by omnipresent distraction and inattention.

The Venezuelan photographer (born 1988) describes the desolate situation in the South American country as a sort of personal diary. She has been documenting the land’s collapse for around ten years. Poverty, inflation, violence; but also, the hope of a young generation who have not – compared to many others – abandoned the country. “Somewhere between the beauty and the horror is Paradise Lost,” as the photographer says.

The forests on the slopes of Matlalcuéyetl, an inactive volcano in Tlaxcala, Mexico, have been largely devastated, due to both illegal logging and a bark beetle infestation. This not only impacts the environment, but also influences the world view of the Nahua culture, for whom the forest is a place of ritual. In her series, the photographer (born 1995), who herself has family ties to the area, shows the connection between the destruction of nature and the loss of cultural heritage.

How can sustainability emerge in the future without repeating the errors of the past? The series questions the change-over to renewable energy sources, which is due to the desired change in the global energy industry. The Swiss photographer (born 1974), who lives in Italy, reveals the problems related to the complex geopolitical, social and ecological effects of copper, lithium and cobalt mining in Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia.

After a golden decade, the Chinese logistics and courier branches have changed and are experiencing slower growth. The series by the Chinese photographer (born 1998) was taken primarily in the Jiangsu region. Taken in large format, the images show daily big-city life for people dealing in e-commerce and express deliveries; but the photographer also accompanies them on journeys to their original home towns, which they migrated from in the hope of a better future.

When it comes to the fight against the climate crisis, Germany has ambitious goals – but the status quo is as complex as it is paradoxical. The desire to be a climate-neutral industrialised nation by 2045 is creating social and ecological dynamics that are leading to an increasing division in society. In his series, the German photographer (born 1995) explores the question of how social consensus can find answers to the challenges of climate change.

The research-based multimedia project by the Nigerian photographer (born 1989) deals with survival, following experiences of violence and terrorism. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa – a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state that is constantly struggling with atrocities and conflicts of varying degrees. Since 2018, Yvonne has been working with over sixty traumatised adults and children in different parts of the country.