Ivor Prickett: War on the Nile – Fragmented Sudan

Following the humanistic tradition, which focuses on people, the photographer not only succeeds in conveying the status quo, but also communicates a wide range of emotions in his images – including joy and optimism, even in the midst of a world of deprivation and destruction.

As with many representatives of humanistic photography, Ivor Prickett documents not only what is happening at the front line of war, but focusses primarily on the suffering, the dignity and the fates of the people affected. In Sudan, he dedicated himself to the civilian population. He followed victims, refugees, survivors and mourners with his camera – up close, with great respect and allowing them space for dignity. Prickett’s goal is to incite both interest and compassion, rather than to shock. Even though the major humanitarian crisis in Sudan does not suggest beautiful images, the photographer’s keen sense of composition and sensitivity to emotions, enable him to find visual metaphors for joy and hope: for example, children and young people in a refugee camp, where playing between the tent poles brings smiles to their faces, despite the barrenness of the desert-like surroundings; Prickett also manages to capture a positive expression on the face of Bara’a Ahmed, a severely undernourished 18-month-old girl, as she lies on a treatment table at a child nutrition centre in Port Sudan, receiving intravenous fluids from UNICEF paramedics. 

The war in Sudn has led to one of the worst famines in decades. Close to one half of the population suffer from an acute lack of food. In the Coptic church of Marmina in Omdurman, which was liberated by RSF troops in early 2024, severely damaged and looted, Prickett captured beams of sunlight made visible by dust through the perforated ceiling of the nave: a moving message of light amid the destruction.
Prickett learned his craft while studying Documentary Photography at the University of Wales, an institution that has been teaching the practical and theoretical fundamentals of the medium for 100 years. Before starting his studies, he worked on his portfolio at school while still a teenager, and attended a course in analogue black and white photography in Dublin. After that, he knew he wanted to be a photographer. Speaking of influences and role models, he says: “There have been many photographers that I have looked up to and learnt from since I began my career. In university the work of Don McCullin, Larry Burrows and W. Eugene Smith influenced me heavily as I learnt about the history of photojournalism.” Prickett continued to pursue his own path. In 2012, he moved to Istanbul to be closer to the Middle East, his second major subject after Sudan. Among the contemporary photographers who have influenced him, he names Eugene Richards, Paolo Pellegrin, Simon Norfolk and Ron Haviv. As a documentary photographer, he is also active on the media landscape in various formats, reporting on and sharing his experiences and perspectives on crisis and war photography.

Ivor Prickett’s series was submitted by Manila Camarini, one of this year’s group of international LOBA nominators.