Yumna Al-Arashi, Photographer
Illustration by Jeffrey Phillips
Yumna Al-Arashi is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer based in London. Her work has been featured in Vogue, New York Times, Artsy, i_D, Vice, and more. She has been awarded by the Tribeca Film Festival, The National Portrait Gallery, The Magnum Foundation, The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and more.
The Suffering of Light,
by Alex Webb
"The colours. The imagery. It's beyond."
Nationality Doubtful,
by Josef Koudelka
"Koudelka really takes us on a journey that feels so much more important than so much photojournalism out there. You really feel his subjects. His work is beautiful. So moving."
On Being an Angel,
by Francesca Woodman
"What a special soul. I always feel like her work really pulls at my heart strings because I feel like I get her so hard. I, too, use my body to express myself, and I feel like she felt alone sometimes because of that. And I think I did too for so often. This book felt like a friend."
Regarding the Pain of Others,
by Susan Sontag
"This isn't a photo book — but it's a book about photography — most specifically, photojournalism. Although it was published in 2003, she starts from early imagery and its impacts on humans. Obviously, very relevant for the image based society we live in today. I think this is really important for anyone who has any interest in photography, media, sociology, and psychology. And I think I'd like to write the updated version of this novel about the world we live in today, called "Regarding the Happiness of Others," since it seems so much that we regularly only project and view positive imagery about ourselves and others."