Overview participating exhibitions

Awarded Commitment
2012

Awarded Commitment

William Daniels

FADED TULIPS

Born out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the young and fragile Kyrgyz republic is undermined by poverty, corruption and chronic political instability. Freedom of expression is minimal and more than 40% of the population live below the poverty line. This explosive mixture is what pushed the country towards its recent bloody events. In March 2005, the "Tulip Revolution" brought hope and a promise of democracy to Kyrgyzstan when the Kyrgyz people overthrew the authoritarian regime of President Askar Akayev and elected in his place Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The international community broadly welcomed this uprising, seeing it as a major step towards democracy. But in a few years time, hope was fading. Faded Tulips is a social portrait of Kyrgyzstan 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

  • FADED TULIPS

    Born out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the young and fragile Kyrgyz republic is undermined by poverty, corruption and chronic political instability. Freedom of expression is minimal and more than 40% of the population live below the poverty line. This explosive mixture is what pushed the country towards its recent bloody events. In March 2005, the "Tulip Revolution" brought hope and a promise of democracy to Kyrgyzstan when the Kyrgyz people overthrew the authoritarian regime of President Askar Akayev and elected in his place Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The international community broadly welcomed this uprising, seeing it as a major step towards democracy. But in a few years time, hope was fading. Faded Tulips is a social portrait of Kyrgyzstan 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

  • FADED TULIPS

    Bishkek. Jenish downs a glass of vodka. He works on the market on Lev Tolstoy Street, nicknamed "the street of the unemployed". In winter he lives underground close to the hot water pipelines.

Biography

The work of Frenchman William Daniels revolves around social issues and humanitarian concerns mostly focusing on isolated or weakened communities. it is destined to press, book publishing and exhibition.

He began his career by photographing street children in the Philippines. This work was awarded the Social and Documentary Photography Prize in 2004.

In 2007, he won the Lagardere Foundation grant for young photographers to shoot Faded Tulips, a social and political portrait of Kyrgystan a few years after the Tulips revolution. This story recieved an award of Excellence at the Picture of the Year contest and made him a finalist of the FotoEvidence Book Award 2011.

His photographs appear regularly in the French and international press, such as: TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Elle... and he collaborates with organisations such as The Open Society Institute, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and several UN Agencies.