The Birth of a Nation
Sudan & South Sudan, 2005–2016

The Birth of a Nation
Sudan and South Sudan, 2005–2016

From 2005 to 2016, I traveled regularly to Sudan and South Sudan, photographing a country at war with itself, and later, a new one learning how to stand. These images trace the arc of a people fighting for independence, navigating its aftermath, and confronting the hope and weight of self-determination.

My work began inside the southern rebel movement as they pushed toward autonomy. I entered South Sudan with those who had fought for freedom and stayed as the flag of a new country was raised in 2011. The people I met—soldiers, elders, mothers, displaced families, and young herders—carried the dream of a sovereign nation with them through unimaginable hardship.

Among the most enduring images for me are those of the Dinka cattle boys: proud, painted, and stoic. As guardians of their families’ most sacred possessions, they represent both cultural continuity and the quiet pressure of expectation placed on the next generation. In many ways, their lives are suspended between tradition and a nation still trying to define itself.

The promise of independence was powerful. But what followed was not peace. The years since have been marked by economic collapse, civil strife, and stalled nation-building. South Sudan is now one of the most fragile countries in the world, with millions displaced and many still waiting for the peace they were promised.

These photographs serve as both a time capsule and a mirror. They speak to a chapter in history when the world briefly looked toward East Africa and witnessed the birth of a nation. And they remind us that liberation is only the beginning. What happens after the celebration matters just as much—and that story is still unfolding.

A person is working in a dump site, burning trash and cans with smoke rising into the sky. There are piles of crushed cans in the foreground, barren trees, and hills in the background under a cloudy sky.
A woman wearing a colorful orange and yellow patterned headscarf and matching traditional attire, looking thoughtfully out of a window.
A woman and a girl stand in a polluted, trash-strewn landscape with few trees, holding babies. In the background, two people are walking among scattered debris.
A group of people with dark skin, close together, some smiling, with a bright background. The photo appears to be taken from a low angle or through an object creating a blurred frame.
Group of women walking past a makeshift shelter in a desert or sandy area, with sparse buildings in the distance.
Silhouettes of two young men holding rifles, standing in a field with cattle and a sunset sky in the background.
A rural village with makeshift huts, trees, mountains in the background, and the sun setting behind dark clouds, creating a dramatic sky.
Group of young girls, some with heads covered, gathered indoors, looking upward with attentive expressions, as sunlight filters through the windows.
Silhouettes of children walking on a wooden bridge over a river, with a scenic landscape in the background during sunset.
A person standing next to a silver car in a vast, arid desert landscape with a distant mountain and a rainbow in cloudy sky.
Two armed soldiers standing in a rural landscape with a tree and a dilapidated building in the background. One soldier is in camouflage uniform, and the other is in a different camouflage pattern, both holding rifles.
A traditional African man in red checkered cloth herding a buffalo with large horns, as dust and other cattle are visible in the background.
Overhead view from an airplane showing dark storm clouds and rain over a landscape of plains and sparse trees.
A silhouette of a child holding a stick in a field, with huts and trees in the background amid a fire and dark smoky sky.
A young man with dark skin and short hair wearing a beaded necklace. He is shirtless, showing a lean, muscular torso, and appears to be wet, standing outdoors with a blurred background.
A close-up of a sable antelope's head with long, twisted horns, set against a background of a grassy savannah with other antelopes and trees in the distance.
Silhouettes of two people in traditional clothing standing on grassland at sunset, one holding a rifle and both with accessories, under a partly cloudy sky.
A soldier in camouflage uniform and hat, wearing sunglasses and a face covering, standing behind a mounted gun.
A man dressed in a yellow uniform with a yellow cap, wearing white sunglasses and smoking a cigarette, sitting next to another man dressed similarly.
Close-up of a person with dark skin wearing a yellow, open-knit cloth draped over their head and shoulders, outdoors under a clear blue sky, with blurred huts and landscape in the background.
A large herd of white and light tan wildebeest grazing along a muddy riverbank.
A group of women dressed in traditional colorful clothing, standing outdoors in a rural setting with grass and a few small houses in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A woman wearing a patterned headscarf and matching traditional clothing standing in a doorway of a rustic, earthen building with an orange-brown wall and a small closed window with a wooden lattice.
A woman dressed in white sitting on a white plastic chair in an open field during sunset, holding a wooden cross and wearing a necklace with a chain and a watch.
Children sitting on the ground playing with writing in the dirt, creating symbols and numbers.
A rural village scene with traditional round thatched-roof huts amidst tall golden grass, with smoke rising in the background and sparse trees under a cloudy sky.
A sunset or sunrise over a rural road with motorcycles, cars, and a cyclist, with hilly landscape and cloudy sky.
A person standing on the wing of a crashed yellow airplane in a field during sunset.
Group of women wearing colorful headscarves, with one woman prominently in the foreground touching her face, in warm indoor lighting.
Sun setting behind traditional thatched-roof huts in a rural landscape.
A soldier in desert camouflage gear operates a machine gun outdoors during daylight.
Close-up of an elderly African man with weathered skin and short, curly, gray hair, wearing a red and blue shirt, outdoors with blurred background.
A person riding a bicycle across a dry, open landscape with a few distant figures and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.
A man with dark skin and glasses smiling and walking on dry, rocky, orange earth with sparse bushes and leafless trees under a cloudy sky.
A busy street scene with several vehicles, including vans and buses, under streetlights with solar panels and a partly cloudy sky.
A young man with dark skin and short hair, painted with white markings on his face and body, standing outdoors with a large animal horn resting on his shoulder.
A large herd of cattle and cattle around a water body in a savannah-like landscape with a person standing in the water.
Two women dressed in white traditional clothing walking in a desert landscape with a few buildings in the background.
A group of women and girls wearing white headscarves, with the focus on a woman in the foreground, outdoors during sunset.
Elderly woman wearing a patterned headscarf and black glasses, standing indoors.
Several wildebeests with large curved horns standing in front of a tanker truck labeled 'Petroleum' and 'Transport Goods'.
A young girl in red standing in a doorway of a makeshift dwelling made of wood and fabric, with a dirt ground and scattered debris outside.
A market stall with a banner in English and Arabic advertising products, amid a busy outdoor market with multiple people and scattered goods, against a cloudy sky.
A dusty dirt road with a white Toyota pickup truck and a person standing in the truck bed, heading towards large trucks in the distance, under a cloudy sky, with small trees and scattered houses on the side.
A person is swimming in the water during sunset or sunrise, with the sun reflecting off the waves.
Two young men with dark skin holding radios, standing outdoors at sunset, with a group of people in the background.
An older man and a young boy stand in front of a mud brick structure with partly collapsed walls, a donkey in the background, and a clear blue sky.
A man in traditional white clothing and turban stands in front of a group of students in a classroom with yellow walls and windows, some students are wearing white headscarves.
View of a small airstrip or runway seen through an aircraft window, with mountains in the distance and dry landscape surrounding the airstrip.