Cultural Discovery

Sony World Photography Awards winner Alys Tomlinson discusses her winning series

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My project ‘Ex-Voto’ is about the relationship between faith, pilgrims and the landscape. I first went to Lourdes around five years ago on a kind of ‘pilgrim package tour.’ I had no idea what to expect and spent a week feeling like an outsider. My initial images were shot in colour and more documentary in style. I kept returning, but struggled to express the otherworldliness of Lourdes. I was nearly ready to give up on the project all together, but something kept drawing me back. The sites have a sense of mystery and timelessness that I found intriguing.