Street Photography nominee

“Tokyo Grid” was captured in a matter of seconds, from behind the glass of a skyscraper bathroom on my last day in Japan . As a Tunisian experiencing intense culture shock, I had spent days navigating Tokyo’s massive zebra crossings, rushing, camera in hand, overwhelmed by movement, light, and sound. Every crossing felt like a portal, like stepping from one dimension to another. It was always chaotic, fast, and overstimulating.

But this moment was different. From above, for the first time, I wasn’t in the middle of it: I was observing it. The scene felt peaceful, almost silent. It appeared geometric, rhythmic, perfectly structured. It was the only moment during my trip when I could truly see the crossing in stillness.

This series reflects my complex interaction with space and movement in Japan. It’s a paradox: what is deeply ordered and precise in Japanese society feels chaotic to me, simply because it’s unfamiliar, outside my comfort zone. That quiet moment of observation became a metaphor for how I experienced Tokyo as a whole: structured yet overwhelming, beautiful yet disorienting. These images mark a turning point in how I perceive photography, culture, and reality.

I’m a 24-year-old Tunisian photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer, based in Berlin. My work is rooted in storytelling and shaped by the exploration of culture, space, and perception. Living between Tunisia and Germany, and traveling to new parts of the world has deeply influenced my art, how I see and express the world around me, and how I perceive reality on a visual level.

I’ve exhibited my work in different corners of the world: at the Design Festa Gallery in Tokyo, the Buchstabenmuseum in Berlin, and the Rotes Rathaus, Berlin’s city hall. My work was also featured on screens at Friedrichstraße U-Bahn station and in several group exhibitions at CLB Berlin.

Photography is where I feel most free to disrupt the familiar. People often tell me my images feel new and unusual, like they’ve never seen something quite like them before. That’s exactly what I aim for: to challenge what we’re used to seeing and how we see it. I want to push visual boundaries, shift perspectives, and connect people through emotion, space, and cultural memory.

My goal is to grow, evolve, and make a lasting impact in the world with my art.