World Press Photo Exhibition on Show

May 3, 2006: The World Press Photo 2006 Exhibition opens at the State Library of NSW in Macquarie Street, Sydney, tomorrow and will run until 28 May.
On display will be a selection of the winning images taken by press photographers over the past 12 months, brought to Australia by Canon and TNT. The display showcases the best images – and series of images on a theme – from the 12 categories of the annual World Press Photo Awards and contains images that are shocking, arresting and stunningly beautiful. Winners in each category were selected by an international jury of 13 experts in press photography.
This year’s overall winner was Canadian photographer, Finbarr O’Reilly, who works for the Reuters agency. His photograph (displayed above) shows the fingers of malnourished one-year-old Alassa Galisou pressed against the lips of his mother Fatou Ousseini at an emergency feeding center in the town of Tahoua in northwestern Niger. It was taken on August 1 during one of the worst droughts in recent times which, together with a particularly heavy plague of locusts, had destroyed the previous year’s harvest, leaving millions of people severely short of food.
The State Library is hosting a special “Free after-hours Feast” on Thursday 11 May from 5 pm to 9 pm, with a talk by winners of the Sports Series category, Australian photographers, Mark and Jenny Evans. For details, phone (02) 9273 1414. Entry to the exhibition is free of charge and the display is open from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays and 11 am to 5 pm on weekends and public holidays.