Joey L. on photographing Kurdistan's guerrilla fighters and cultural revival

Canadian photographer Joey L., represented by agency Sudest57, will present his project 'Guerrilla Fighters of Kurdistan' at the Festival Grenze in Verona this September. The series documents the Kurdish cultural renaissance in Syria during the war, after the Syrian government lifted bans on Kurdish language and cultural activities when militias left Kurds to defend strategic areas from jihadists. Joey L. describes the work as a study of an endangered culture, not a war project, showing the transformation of oppressed civilians into armed soldiers fighting for their destiny against ISIS. He has hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers and is working on a book covering all regions of Ethiopia and its human diversity. Joey L. is self-taught and emphasizes the importance of anthropology, culture, and geopolitics in his photography. He believes there is no strict distinction between commercial and artistic photography, only good and bad images. His portraits are described as 'high' portraits of subjects aware of being photographed, in dynamic and cinematic environments. He previously exhibited portraits of Kurdish fighters in a Saddam-era prison in Slemani, Iraqi Kurdistan, which he says made the work stronger due to the site's message of resilience.