Mali. The Invisible War
In 2012, a rebellion broke out in the north of Mali, where the Tuaregs established and proclaimed the independence of their own state, Azawad, to protest against alleged racial discrimination, as the color of their skin is not as dark as that of the Malian majority. The world saw a new type of conflict emerge between state and non-state actors in Mali, where separatists attacked government troops from a neighboring state. Mali is a case in point in this respect. Furthermore, although live coverage of conflicts has long become common practice, not a single reporter was allowed into the combat zone. From the very start, the conflict area was to be virtually inaccessible. I was able to visit several parts of the country and witnessed the aftermath of the conflict first-hand.
Valery Melnikov
Born in Nevinnomyssk, Valery Melnikov studied journalism in
Stavropol, Russia. His photographic career began when he started to work for
The North Caucasus newspaper. For ten years he was a staff photographer for
Kommersant publishing house and since 2009 for international news agency
Rossiya Segodnya. He has dedicated
himself to documenting the political and social life of societies in conflict.
Valery’s professional biography includes coverage of Chechen war, conflict
between Georgia and South Ossetia, Lebanese war in 2006, uprising of Mali
Republic, Syrian civil war. In 2014, Valery began documenting war in Eastern
Ukraine. This work continues in his current ongoing project, Black days of
Ukraine, about ordinary civil people who became the participants of the
military confrontation against their will.
Valery has received many awards for his work, including World Press
Photo, Magnum Photography Awards, Pictures of the Year International, Sony
World Photography awards, LensCulture Visual Storytelling Awards. His work has
been exhibited in France, Austria, Italy, USA, Germany, UK, Russia and other
countries. Valery currently lives in
Moscow.
