Having a ball: the best of Photo Basel – in pictures

From Kabul’s trainee clowns to the modernist houses of Palm Springs at night, this year’s fair is a riot of colour and invention

Main image: ‘I don’t want to simply tell a story’ … Feng Li’s Ocean of Balls. Photograph: Feng Li/High Noon

  • Tumult Tulipea, 2020

    Margriet Smulders: ‘It’s impossible for my tulips to keep up. They all have their own wishes. In the meantime storms are deregulating their lives, rapidly they start to decay, that’s why they want to dance and celebrate life.’ Photo Basel, Switzerland’s international art fair dedicated to photography, is on until 19 June
    Tumult Tulipea, 2020. Margriet Smulders: ‘It's impossible for my tulips to keep up. They all have their own wishes. In the meantime storms are deregulating their lives, rapidly they start to decay, that’s why they want to dance and celebrate life’. Photo Basel, Switzerland’s international art fair dedicated to photography, is on until 19 June

  • Sahara, 2020

    In these bold, dynamic portraits, seemingly surreal worlds are created and explored by the subjects, full of vibrant colour and life. Encompassing mythology and fantasy, belonging and truth, Atong Atem continues her exploration of identity, and the ways in which we construct images and stories to understand ourselves and our surroundings
    Sahara, 2020. In these bold, dynamic portraits, seemingly surreal worlds are created and explored by the subjects, full of vibrant colour and life. Encompassing mythology and fantasy, belonging and truth, Atong Atem continues her exploration of identity, and the ways in which we construct images and stories to understand ourselves and our surroundings

  • Pendulum II, 2020

    Photography, performance and a needle are central to Jessa Fairbrother’s practice. She uses the body-as-site to explore communal meanings and is concerned with making explicit the moment when performed gesture and the gaze of the viewer collide. She frequently appears in her own images, piercing and embroidering them to employ process as action. Needle perforations and thread puncture the skin of the photograph, extending image-objects beyond a single time and space
    Pendulum II, 2020. Photography, performance and a needle are central to Jessa Fairbrother’s practice. She uses the body-as-site to explore communal meanings and is concerned with making explicit the moment when performed gesture and gaze of the viewer collide. She frequently appears in her own images, piercing and embroidering them to employ process as action. Needle perforations and thread puncture the skin of the photograph, extending image-objects beyond a single time and space

  • Blueprint: Black Skin, White Mask, 2019

    Melanie Issaka develops an artistic practice that refers to the intersections of race and gender, and explores the materiality of print and photographic media
    Blueprint: Black Skin, White Mask, 2019. Melanie Issaka develops an artistic practice that refers to the intersections of race and gender, and explores the materiality of print and photographic media

  • Ocean of Balls, 2021

    Feng Li: ‘Some people insist that art should be aesthetic, but I think contemporary art should break the stereotypes of beauty and show a deep reflection on life. I don’t want to simply tell a story. The photo will make the audience wonder and let people think of it. For me, a good question is more important than a good answer’
    Ocean of Balls, 2021. Feng Li: ‘Some people insist that art should be aesthetic, but I think contemporary art should break the stereotypes of beauty and show a deep reflection on life. I don’t want to simply tell a story. The photo will make the audience wonder and let people think of it. For me, a good question is more important than a good answer’

  • Nora et les garçons, 2019

    With this series Flore draws an intimate geography in which her autobiographical story blends with the immortal landscapes of Morocco, of which she keeps an imperishable image
    Nora et les garçons, 2019. With this series Flore draws an intimate geography in which her autobiographical story blends with the immortal landscapes of Morocco, of which she keeps an imperishable image

  • Untitled, 2021

    Some of Selim Süme’s research has centred on areas such as subjective documentary storytelling and examination of the representativeness of the image
    Untitled, 2021. Some of Selim Süme’s research has centred on areas such as subjective documentary storytelling and examination of the representativeness of the image

  • Hiding, 2021

    Loneliness after the end of a world: lost on a planet where there is no sea, Sacha Goldberger invites us to find a way to escape, referring to the internal conflict between good and evil
    Hiding, 2021. Loneliness after the end of a world: lost on a planet where there is no sea, Sacha Goldberger invites us to find a way to escape, referring to the internal conflict between good and evil

  • Untitled, 1897-1922

    After his untimely death in 1922 at the age of 44, Hugh Mangum’s black and white glass-plate negatives were stored in a barn on his family’s farm in Durham, North Carolina. Slated for demolition in the 1970s, the barn was saved at the last moment, and with it, this surprising and unparalleled document of life during a turbulent time in the history of the southern United States
    Untitled, 1897-1922. After his untimely death in 1922 at the age of 44, Hugh Mangum’s black and white glass-plate negatives were stored in a barn on his family’s farm in Durham, North Carolina. Slated for demolition in the 1970s, the barn was saved at the last moment, and with it, this surprising and unparalleled document of life during a turbulent time in the history of the southern United States

  • Needle, 2020

    Sara Punt’s work, characterised by strong black and white contrasts and bodies that take on abstract shapes, is the product of personal research on how people look at themselves and others
    Needle, 2020. Sara Punt’s work, characterised by strong black and white contrasts and bodies that take on abstract shapes, is the product of personal research on how people look at themselves and others

  • Entre Deux Eaux, 2020

    Entre Deux Eaux is a project born during a long-term residency along the Loire river, where its waters meet the Authion. Magical encounters have been experienced when following suggestions from the locals
    Entre Deux Eaux, 2020. Entre Deux Eaux is a project born during a long-term residency along the Loire river, where its waters meet the Authion. Magical encounters have been experienced when following suggestions from the locals

  • Freundinnen, 2009

    Chantal Michel’s projects are about fitting into spaces, situations and personalities. What is depicted seems to have been taken from real life and yet is mysteriously removed from it
    Freundinnen, 2009. Chantal Michel’s projects are about fitting into spaces, situations and personalities. What is depicted seems to have been taken from real life and yet is mysteriously removed from it

  • Sonata, 2022

    The photography of Paul Cupido revolves around the principle of mu: a philosophical concept that could be translated as ‘does not have’, but is equally open to countless interpretations. Mu can be considered a void, albeit one that holds potential. You can see more of his work here and here
    Sonata, 2022. The photography of Paul Cupido revolves around the principle of mu: a philosophical concept that could be translated as ‘does not have’, but is equally open to countless interpretations. Mu can be considered a void, albeit one that holds potential. You can see more of his work here and here

  • Family Portraits XIV, 2019

    This collection of self-portraits was taken during the artists’, and their two children’s, travels to idyllic panoramic settings across the world; all dressed up in full body suits that bounce the light of the flash back into the camera lens, the shapes of what we read as a family constellation indicate anonymity – like radiant phantoms waiting to transcend to another dimension
    Family Portraits XIV, 2019. This collection of self-portraits was taken during the artists’, and their two children’s, travels to idyllic panoramic settings across the world; all dressed up in full body suits that bounce the light of the flash back into the camera lens, the shapes of what we read as a family constellation indicate anonymity – like radiant phantoms waiting to transcend to another dimension

  • Kaufmann Desert House – Midnight Modern, 2019

    Through his series Midnight Modern, Tom Blachford has unveiled the famous midcentury-modern houses of Palm Springs at night, shot under the natural light of the full moon, sometimes combined with the homeowners’ classic cars originating from the late 1950s to mid-1960s
    Kaufmann Desert House – Midnight Modern, 2019. Through his series Midnight Modern, Tom Blachford has unveiled the famous midcentury-modern houses of Palm Springs at night, shot under the natural light of the full moon, sometimes combined with the homeowners’ classic cars originating from the late 1950s to mid-1960s

  • Sunrise Pearl, 2015

    Kristin Bedford’s Cruise Night is a collection of unstaged photographs made with the Los Angeles Mexican American lowrider community in 2014-2019. Her path to lowriding originates from an interest in the layered and nuanced ways that customising a car reflects decades of political, cultural and creative self-expression in this community
    Sunrise Pearl, 2015. Kristin Bedford’s Cruise Night is a collection of unstaged photographs made with the Los Angeles Mexican American lowrider community in 2014-2019. Her path to lowriding originates from an interest in the layered and nuanced ways that customising a car reflects decades of political, cultural and creative self-expression in this community

  • Bogoriana, 2022

    The series Silent Loss is based on Ilona Langbroek’s family history in the former Dutch East Indies. Her work is about the lost identity of the large number of people who were forced to leave their country after independence and their emotions regarding this loss, which are dormant but still very much alive
    Bogoriana, 2022. The series Silent Loss is based on Ilona Langbroek’s family history in the former Dutch East Indies. Her work is about the lost identity of the large number of people who were forced to leave their country after independence and their emotions regarding this loss, which are dormant but still very much alive

  • Ta Da 8, 2022

    Julie Cockburn is renowned for her creative reimagining of found objects and vintage photographs, embellishing and reconfiguring the originals through carefully applied embroidery, montage or ceramics, resulting in unique pieces. Works on display have been made exclusively for Photo Basel
    Ta Da 8, 2022. Julie Cockburn is renowned for her creative re-imagining of found objects and vintage photographs, embellishing and reconfiguring the originals through carefully applied embroidery, montage or ceramics, resulting in unique pieces. Works on display have been made exclusively for Photo Basel

  • Kabul, Afghanistan, 2016

    Johanna-Maria Fritz portrays political clowns in Gaza, whose performance reflects the absurdity of life on the front line, and circus schools that give Afghan children an alternative route. All the children have to sew their own costumes. Brush Akbari is their stitching tutor and juggling teacher. ‘Brush is posing for me in the school, right after her class’
    Kabul, Afghanistan, 2016. Johanna-Maria Fritz portrays political clowns in Gaza, whose performance reflects the absurdity of life on the front line, and circus schools that give Afghan children an alternative route. All the children have to sew their own costumes. Brush Akbari is their stitching tutor and juggling teacher. ‘Brush is posing for me in the school, right after her class’

  • Kittel, 2006

    Benyamin Reich: ‘The work Kittel is as revolutionary as it is iconic. It transfers traditional ultra-Orthodox Jewish non-aesthetics and masculinity into the non-binary realm of photographic beauty’
    Kittel, 2006 Benyamin Reich: ‘The work Kittel is as revolutionary as it is iconic. It transfers traditional ultra-Orthodox Jewish non-aesthetics and masculinity into the non-binary realm of photographic beauty’

  • Black Beach, South Coast, Iceland, 1987

    Ragnar Axelsson has been photographing the Arctic for nearly 30 years and is a leading documentarian of the communities and wildlife in some of the most remote parts of the globe. His work sheds light on mankind’s complex relationship to nature and bears witness to the many consequences of climate change
    Black Beach, South Coast, Iceland, 1987. Ragnar Axelsson has been photographing the Arctic for nearly 30 years and is a leading documentarian of the communities and wildlife in some of the most remote parts of the globe. His work sheds light on mankind’s complex relationship to nature and bears witness to the many consequences of climate change
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