Have you ever met someone who has experienced very difficult situations in life? Someone who is a very talented person, with dreams and aspirations and a strong desire to create and share those creations? Someone who inspires you and makes you wonder of the complexities and injustices of the world we live in? Well, I have and more than once and those are the stories that make me be more appreciative of what I have and the life I’ve lived so far. The most recent person I met, virtually, who inspired and made wonder is Jalal.
Jalal is a poet and an artist and a refugee who arrived in Australia by boat, nearly 10 years ago, and who was detained for 9 years; he worked from his detention cell where he wrote poetry and draw powerful and beautiful images.
There is a twist in this sad story, Jalal was freed on the 1st of December, Jalal is now a free man. There are a lot of people who worked very hard and made this happened, I don’t know all of them, but I know a very special and also very inspiring woman who is a super talented and creative musician, Keyna Wilkins. Keyna started working and collaborating with Jalal 5 months ago and the result of that collaboration is a beautiful album with 19 musicians called SET ME FREE, a book deal and two packed launch concerts in Sydney and Brisbane.
I was invited by Keyna to photograph this wonderful event and for that I'm very grateful.
I’m sharing some of the shots from the launching event in Lazybones in Sydney.
You can find more information about Jalal here:
