Over the past three years, the Visualising Peace team has been exploring the power of photography to represent and help build peace. We have learnt a lot from scholars working in visual politics and from professional photojournalists like Hugh Kinsella Cunningham – who worked with us on a photography exhibition in June-July 2023, which featured his award-winning work on the women’s peace movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You can explore that exhibition and read more about our research into peace photography via our Picturing Peace in Congo website. As we write in our exhibition booklet:
‘Photographs are world-building. They don’t just reflect the world around us: they shape what we know, colour how we think, and impact how we feel. They focus our gaze towards certain events and people – and away from others. The perspectives they take frame our perceptions, direct the questions we might ask, and prompt particular emotional reactions. In both positive and negative ways, photographs – like many other kinds of storytelling – influence how we understand and interact with the world and with each other.’
https://peace-dr-congo.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/peace-photography/
This work inspired student Robert Rayner to investigate ‘Everyday Peace’ through the lens of amateur photography. He canvassed an international and interdisciplinary group of St Andrews students, asking them to send in photos from their camera roll that looked like peace to them. You can see a collage featuring the results below, and read Robert’s reflections here. Robert Rayner and Alice König wrote an article about this for PRISMA Photography Magazine, which you can read here.
Following on from this, students Valerie Kniazeva, Kim Wahnke and Anna Pilgrim collaborated with PRISMA Photography Magazine to host a competition and exhibition on the theme of Visualising Peace in spring 2024. We wanted to see how people all around the world, in different contexts and communities, picture peace – from inner peace to geopolitical or even cosmic peace, past, present and future.
The competition was judged by a stellar line-up of professional journalists and photographers: Louise Anderbjork, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PRISMA Photography magazine; Antony Borden, CEO of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting; David Cruickshanks, veteran and professional photographer based in Fife; and Hugh Kinsella Cunningham, award-winning photojournalist based in the DRC. Winners were announced at our Visualising Peace photography exhibition on 18th April.
- First prize: Embracing Sunset: A Symbol of Peace on Lombok’s Eastern Coast by Lalu Muhammad Hafid Naufal
- Highly commended: Early Morning Tranquillity at Emerald Lake, Canadian Rockies by Rob Wilson and Grandmother’s Inner Peace by Nikitah
You can browse all the shortlisted entries below, including the winning pictures. We hope that they get you thinking about what peace looks like to different people in different places – and even inspire you to get your own camera out and experiment with picturing peace for yourselves!
Above left: Glasgow Cemetery Acropolis ‘This cemetery is so peaceful and can make a good place for meditation and rethinking our goals in life. It has nice quotations and messages left to the dead from their loved ones which express care, appreciation and hopes for peace.’ Mary Abed Al Ahad This image speaks to our research project’s interest in love, care and interpersonal relationships.
Above centre: ‘This photo was taken in a cemetery in Key West, Florida. I think it relates to peacebuilding through its connection to religion: for many people, religion is a beacon of community and hope – a form of peacebuilding – which this photo represents. As the figure of Jesus is shown in focus amid slanting and blurred shadows and architectural elements, it evokes symbolism of peacebuilding through religion.’ Caroline Heath
Above right: Please Just Hold Me Oslo, Norway, 2023. ‘Through this photo I tried to depict the conditions of unity and togetherness during encounters with the unknown or during crisis.’ Tymofii Donets In this photograph, a small act of care and solidarity (so tiny that it gets dwarfed by the huge expanse of sea and risks going unnoticed) travels a long way.
Above left: Early Morning Tranquillity at Emerald Lake, Canadian Rockies. Rob Wilson We invite you to compare this image with ‘Car Reflections’. It connects to our research on inner peace through transcendence, which can be found in both extraordinary and everyday moments and places.
Above right: Car Reflections ‘On top of a car on a relaxing night. It relates to peace because it is not crowded or busy; it is just calming.’ Ellie Wekesa This everyday scene captures a place of peace that we can all relate to: stillness in the everyday, close to home, as people settle in for the evening.
Above left: ‘This photo was taken by the North Sea/Castle Sands in St Andrews. I think it relates to peacebuilding through the serenity of the solo swimmer at sunset, blending into the natural scene, creating a sense of beauty and serenity.’ Caroline Heath The ripples spreading out from the swimmer in this image reflect our project’s research into the connectedness between inner, interpersonal and global peacebuilding.
Above centre: Women Farmers of Batujai: Cultivating Peace and Unity ‘In Batujai Village, located in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, female farmers stroll towards their agricultural plots amidst lush greenery during the rainy season. The fertile land becomes optimal for cultivation during this time. Within this setting, there is evident camaraderie and collaboration amongst the women farmers as they unite to foster tranquillity and prosperity within their community. Batujai Village serves as a beacon of local peacebuilding, where residents join forces to combat inequality, foster better interpersonal connections, and establish enduring frameworks for a harmonious future.’Lalu Muhammad Hafid Naufal
Above right: ‘I captured this photo using my film camera while I was walking around St Andrews. In this image, the essence of peace unfolds in a way that transcends the simplicity of black and white. Two birds, one bathed in the radiance of sunlight while the other nestled within the comforting shadows, soar in parallel against the endless expanse of the blue sky. Their synchronized flight embodies the harmony that arises from embracing diversity. Peace isn’t about black and white distinctions; it’s about finding common ground amidst differences. The white bird within the black shadow symbolizes the inherent beauty of unity within diversity, reminding us that true peace is found in the acceptance and celebration of our differences.’ Jasmine Fong
Above left: ‘Japan, like many nations, was dominated by militarism in the first half of the 20th century. Today the country’s pacifist identity is being increasingly tested. Peacebuilding is shown to be a continuous process – a challenge that must be shouldered with great care by successive generations. Taken in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, this photo shows a child loading a starting pistol in preparation for his school sports day. Continuous access to formal education and annual sporting events are both indicators of lasting peace. So too, almost paradoxically, is this image of a child with a gun. Whilst bearing a resemblance to a far more sinister scene, this moment of concentration is part of a childhood. Nonetheless, the tool is loaded with careful attention and respect.’ Will Dalziel
Above right: Embracing Sunset: A Symbol of Peace on Lombok’s Eastern Coast ‘In the midst of the serene beauty of the east coast of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, a human figure stands on a grassy hill with his arms outstretched. The sun sets, casting warm rays on the sea waters, where the hills are scattered. In this serene moment, nature and humanity meet—a visual metaphor for peace. A wide view symbolizes endless possibilities, while an open hug symbolizes acceptance and unity. When the sun sets, it signifies hope and renewal—a promise that even amidst life’s challenges, peace will remain.’ Lalu Muhammad Hafid Naufal
Above left: ‘This photograph was taken on Traeth Llanddwyn (Llanddwyn Beach) in Anglesey, North Wales. It shows a young couple taking an evening stroll, all alone, along a secluded beach. A rare peaceful moment between two people highlighted by the heavenly sun streak which appeared for just a couple of seconds an hour before sunset.’ Chris Michael
Above right: Grandmother’s Inner Peace ‘Taken in Fife, this photograph shows my grandmother who in my eyes has been the most hardworking role model around me, having brought our family to this country, managing her own business and helping me with whatever my current struggle is. On this day we had gone out and she took her time to enjoy the scenery, the nature around her, finding peace despite all else. My grandmother is a true beacon of light to me, always knowing that inner peace is the way to navigate the world around her.’ Nikitah
Above left: ‘This photograph began with an interest in the comparison between latest technologies and the everlasting beliefs of faith. It came from a desire to capture a very small moment of quiet that also felt very big. It is the experience of university, this time together and how quickly it goes. And community and friendship; empty chairs and a radiator where two people sat quietly together, but a third person was there too, still there after they have gone, interceding for us. The wires are like these loose connections between us all that can feel so unpredictable at this stage of life, but the structured bookshelves are also there for us—our families, our roots, and faith. We always find ways to connect with others, and the medium of that is peace, a peace that saturates everything, even suffering. “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” (John 14:27) The contrasts show that God comes to us in every mundane moment, to every person, in the beautiful triumph of peace.’ Anonymous
Above right: The Peace Flame in Derry~Londonderry ‘The Peace Flame stands at the centre of a place worn by conflict and bigotry, by the Derry Walls and the Guildhall. Surrounded by happy people (and pigeons), it serves as a testament to how far we have come, but situated as it is in between the Protestant Fountain and the Catholic Bogside (which remain deeply conflicted) it is also a reminder of how delicate that flame of peace can be.’ Zefang Chen
Above left: Above the rooftops of desire, Hamburg ‘In a paradise world, you are welcome to love whoever you want, regardless of their sex, 24 hours a day – every day.’ Zoé Hauser Doves are traditionally associated with peace; in this exhibition, pigeons feature more prominently. What role do birds play in the other images on display?
Above right: Someone is calling ‘For peace, Durex needs to make stronger condoms.’ Zoé HauserThis image suggests that – for peace – we need better protection from fake news. It ties into wider research we have been doing into responsible debate and the role of social media in driving conflict or building peace.