Ali Arkady is a photojournalist, artist and filmmaker from Iraq. In 2017, Ali fled Iraq with his family when his life was threatened after photographing Iraqi armed forces committing war crimes. He sought refuge in Europe, where he was granted asylum.

His photographs of war crimes in Iraq were published worldwide by international media and put pressure on the Iraqi government to acknowledge the crimes committed by their soldiers. For this work, he won the prestigious Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents in 2017 and the Free Press Unlimited Most Resilient Journalist Award in 2019 for his exceptional courage and persistence. In addition, his work was shown at the Venice Biennale 2017.

Ali’s unique approach to printing onto stone began as a response to the physical weight he felt on his shoulders. He started working with heavy stones he found in a skip, printing his photos onto it. He described this process as a way of transferring the heaviness of his memories onto the stone.

Led by Ali, Big Leaf Foundation ran a session in which displaced young people printed images that reminded them of their homes onto pieces of stone. We will show these moving and expressive pieces in Guildford throughout June and July.

“It was an eye-opening, spectacular and unforgettable experience with Ali. I had experienced something I never knew before and it sparked a new creativity that I want to practise.” Adi