Ojo de Pez 2008 Award

Olivia Arthur ©

Olivia Arthur she is the winner of Ojo de Pez Award 2008 with her project "Behind The Veil". In her statement she says "Beyond The Veil is about the lives of ordinary young women living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In an attempt to show something different from the dramatic headlines we see so often about this country, I have tried to give a personality to the people inside the country, living their lives far away from the fanaticism of the clerics. I hope that young people in the West will be able to find something familiar in these scenes, and realise that there is a lot more to the lives of these women than the fact that they are obliged to wear the hijab. "

Olivia Arthur ©

Her work about women and the east-west cultural divide have been the focus of her project in the past two years. In July 2008 during the 61st Annual General Meeting of Magnum, she was also selected as one of two new nominees for this year at Magnum.