For his World Press Photo award-winning project The Last Colony, Irish-born photographer Andrew McConnell ventured to the Western Sahara where he spent four months taking intense, intimate portraits of the Sahrawi people — refugees at the center of a long political struggle between Morocco and a Saharawi rebel group, the Polisario Front. “I wanted to give a sense that this is one long night for the Sahrawi — lasting 35 years,” he has said. “My showing very little of the land emphasizes that the Sahrawi are landless. By lighting them simply and in darkness, I am trying to say, ‘Look! These people are here!'” The resulting images, which have previously only been exhibited in Spain, are currently on view at the Half King Gallery in Manhattan; click through to check out a slideshow of some of our favorites.
Minatu Lanabas Suidat, journalist in Tifariti, Polisario controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Malainin Aomar, soldier of the Polisario Front watching the Moroccan wall near Auserd, Polisario controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Lahbieb Embarek Ahmed, camel worker, Sahrawi refugee camps, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Dada Mohammed Kehel, at home in Polisario controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Mohammen Sheikh Salek, gas station attendant, Rabouni refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Djimi Elghalia, vice president of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH), pictured near El-Ayoun city, in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Hamdi Jaafar Mohammed, soldier of the Polisario Front, in Tifariti, Polisario controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Ali Salem Salma, statistician for the Saharawi government, watching TV at home with his wife, Nabba, and four year old son, Khadda, in Smara refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Name withheld, photographed at an undisclosed location on the coast of Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Salima Kedi Embarec, pictured in the ruins of an old prison used to hold Moroccan soldiers captured during the war, Smara refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Ihaka Sidahmad Embark, musician, 27th of February refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Mohamed Salem Ali, water seller, Dakhla refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Sana Zrog, student, El-Ayoun refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Brahim Mohamed Baih, Polisario soldier, praying in the desert in Polisario controlled Western Sahara near the Algerian border. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Azmah Laulad, Auserd refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Yahdih Yahdih Mohamed, Dakhla refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Name withheld, photographed at an undisclosed location in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Ahmed Sbaai, secretary-general of the Saharawi League for the Protection of Political Prisoners inside Moroccan Jails, human rights defender, leader of intifada, pictured on the streets of El Aaiún city, in Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Mariam Zaide Amar, deminer, pictured in Mehaires, in Polisario controlled Western Sahara. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Chrifa Mohammed Salem, pictured outside her home in Auserd refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
Nagla Mohamed Lamin, pictured on bus near Smara refugee camp, Algeria. Photo credit: Andrew McConnell
