Andy Spyra

The Städtische Galerie in Iserlohn, Germany, presents the exhibition Exilium. The Disappearance of Christianity in the Middle East with photographs by Andy Spyra. On view through 29 January 2017.

Since 2011, Spyra has documented the exodus of Christians in the Middle East. Having photographed people in Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Gaza, Palestine and Egypt, he is yet to visit Christian communities in the Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Each of these locations plays a significant part in the fate of Christian life in the Middle East. Jordan has accepted millions of refugees from Syria and Iraq, including hundreds of thousands of Christians on the brink of permanently leaving this part of the world. Lebanon seems to be the only Middle Eastern country where religious pluralism still exists. Though here, too, Christian communities feel the effects of the religious conflicts that have already destroyed the rest of the region.

Andy Spyra (born 1984) studied photojournalism and documentary photography at Hanover University. Recipient of various prizes, among them the Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography 2009 and the Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award 2010 for his work on the Kashmir conflict. His reportage on the centenary of Armenian genocide was featured in LFI 1/2015.

For further information visit www.andyspyra.com