/ 2026 / Portraiture / Self-Portrait

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Shazia Khan, Denmark
• Date of Photograph
  20.08 2025
• Studio
  Shaz Production
• Website
  http://www.shaz.dk/
• Instagram
  shazo1976

I drift between memory and dream, inspired by my childhood fascination with Oriental carpets and the longing to fly away on one of them. My father owned an Oriental carpet and arts/ antiques company, and I grew up surrounded by art, aged objects, and richly woven textiles that felt enchanted to me as a child. Their intricate patterns became imagined maps to distant worlds, carrying stories, mystery, and escape.
I dreamed of lifting off the ground and floating beyond reality, seeing the world from above — free, weightless, and infinite.

Shazia Khan, born in 1976 in, Denmark, is an accomplished photographer known for her evocative visual storytelling and portraiture that transcends cultural and geographical boundaries.
Before graduating from Media College Denmark in 2000, she trained with the iconic portrait photographer Gurli Nielsen and interned at The National Museum of Photography, Odense. Shazia has since developed a distinctive style that blends documentary realism with artistic abstraction. Her work resonates with audiences worldwide, capturing the essence of diverse cultures and social narratives.