Take a look at the spectacular winners of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023

It is a huge honour to be recognised and although I am philosophical about awards and the subjective nature of someone’s choice, knowing that there were over 180,000 entries to this year’s Professional competition, is very humbling. In this case, it is also quite an emotional experience because I get to honour my friend on a world stage and bring attention to the family’s plight to find his remains. There’s no award that has the reach of the Sony World Photography Awards.

What do girls dream of? And what happens when a supportive environment is created where girls are empowered and given the opportunity to learn and dream? 'The Right to Play' creates a playful world where girls are shown in an empowered and affirming way. Worldwide, it is estimated that around 129 million girls are out of school and only 49 percent of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education, with the gap widening at secondary school level. Every day, girls face barriers to education caused by poverty, cultural norms and practices such as FGM, poor infrastructure and violence. For this project, I worked with girls from Kakenya’s Dream in Enoosaen, Kenya who have avoided FGM and child marriage, showing what the world can look like when girls are given the opportunity to continue learning in an environment that supports them and their dreams.

Tieshan Cement Factory is located in Guilin City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China. The factory was built in 1996 and played an important role in Guilin’s economic development and urban construction. However, because it was originally located in the Li River Scenic Area of Guilin, the cement factory has now been relocated, leaving behind the old buildings, water towers, pools and railway tracks.

Pairing rare visuals of the frontlines with portraits and in-depth stories from women, this long-term project follows activists as they mobilise. While media crews come in briefly to shoot scenes of war and displacement, I have spent many months in hard to access areas covering conflict and documenting the slow work of peace from a unique perspective.

In the region, the problem is cyclical and polymorphous. While some communities can achieve certain stability during rainy seasons, temperatures are bound to rise, drying up the land again. Global warming only aggravates this, causing droughts and famine, and spoiling the facilities and installations that help source clean water. We framed the story from a female perspective to get a better understanding of how gender inequality and climate vulnerability interrelate. We sought to highlight the strength and resourcefulness of the Wayuu women, as we found it inspiring that, even under such conditions, they have established themselves as community leaders, teachers and climate activists. Through our diptychs we wanted to convey a visual balance between a raw and a lyrical documentation, and achieve a nuanced portrayal of a multihued situation.

At the start of winter I set out on a journey in search of harmony. Driven by instinct, I ventured further and further until I passed the boundaries of rationality. Whether it was fog or snow, frost or thaw, I took to the sky to see if it was possible to fly. When I could, I flew over frozen bodies of water, fascinated by their icy forms. Between January and March I made 76 solo flights in a gyrocopter or a motorised paraglider, covering around 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) and spending 200 hours in the air. My photographs were taken from a height of approximately 50-150 metres (165-495 feet) above bodies of water near Tricity in northern Poland.

This portfolio was shot in the first half of 2022 in Saudi Arabia, where I was based at the time. Given more time, I think these pictures would have fallen into more defined projects or narratives, perhaps relating to the large migrant worker and expat population (of which I was part), or Saudi car culture. As it is, I believe this collection shows my style and technique as a photographer – there is no deliberate connection between the images other than I was searching for special photographs that could eventually develop into projects.

Landscape gardening is a practice dating back to ancient times; Nebuchadnezzar II of the Babylonian Empire built a garden complex in the sky for his homesick princess consort, which was known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Sky Garden series takes its name from this history. Three years ago I settled down in Wenjiang, and there is a tree nursery within walking distance of my home. Exotic trees and rocks from all over the world can be seen there, including Japanese black pines and maple trees. There are workers lifting these trees and rocks with mobile cranes every day, transporting them and planting them in newly built parks, neighbourhoods or streets in the city. I walk through the woods and take photographs when the trees and rocks are being lifted into the air. Together, these images create The Sky Garden series.

'Cities Gone Wild' is an exploration of three savvy animals - black bears, coyotes and raccoons - that have uniquely equipped to survive and even thrive in the human built landscape while other animals are disappearing. I tracked these animals in cities across America to reveal a more intimate view of how wildlife is adapting to increased urbanisation.