The Gambia - Victims & Resisters

• Prize
  Gold in Portraiture/Other
• Photographer
  Jason Florio, Gambia
• Date of Photograph
  2017-2020
• Studio
  Jason Florio
• Socials
• Website
  http://www.floriophoto.com

The Gambia is a popular holiday destination, but few tourists know of the dark underbelly of 'The Smiling Coast of Africa'. From 1994-2017 President Jammeh ruled Gambia as his fiefdom, crushing opposition & dissent with brutality. He ordered his hit squad & intelligence agency to carry out tortures, assassinations, disappearances and acts of sexual violence with impunity. The portraits & testimonies are part of an ongoing series to tell the stories of the victims & resisters of a dictatorship, to expose the extensive human rights abuses, as a tool of advocacy and to create a historical archive

• Biography
  Florio, is a freelance photographer & filmmaker, based between London and the Gambia. He has produced images and documentaries for clients including The New York Times, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, Men’s, Journal, Outside, Bloomberg, Geographical, MIT Technology Review, Amnesty International and the World Bank. He is a contributing editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review. His focus is towards under-reported stories about people living on the margins of society and human rights. His work has been recognised with a number of awards, including The Magnum Photo Award 2017 & American Photo 2018
• Awards
  2019 LensCulture Finalist Portrait Awards 2018 Contemporary African Photography Prize - short listed 2018 American Photography 34 (AI-AP) 2018 LensCulture Exposure Awards - Jurors' Pick 2017 Magnum Photography Awards - Winner -Photojournalism 2016 Virginia Quarterly Review - Prize for Photography 2014 ASME nomination - Feature Photography/VQR 'Life on the River Gambia' 2014 Society of News Design - Award of Excellence /'Mogadishu Portraits' 2013 Society of Publication Designers Awards -Trunk Magazine -Silver Medal 2013 Virginia Quarterly Review - Prize for Photography 2012 International Photography Award - Honourable Mention 'Professional' 2012 Portrait Salon - 2012 Selections 2012 PX3 Prix de la Photographie Silver Medal - Portraiture/Culture category 2012 Black & White Spider Awards - Winner - Portrait category 2012 International Photography Awards - Honourable Mention 2011 PX3 Prix de la Photographie – Gold Medal - War 2011 PX3 Prix de la Photographie - 3rd Public Choice 2010 International Photography Awards - First Prize - People category 2010 Forward Thinking Museum - Winner - 2nd Quarter Photography Contest 2010 NY Photo Festival - Honorary Mention - fine art/personal series 2010 PDN Faces - Finalist 2010 CDS/Daylight Awards - Honorary Mention - Project Prize 2009 Centre Review Santa Fe - Nominee