O'Born Contemporary

Artist Biography

Ed Ou

www.adventureswithlight.net

Ed Ou (b.1986) is a culturally ambiguous Canadian photojournalist who has been bouncing around the Middle East, former Soviet Union, Africa, and the Americas.
His photography has so far taken him from dark eerie crypts in Madagascar, to radioactive lakes in Kazakhstan, refugee boats in the Gulf of Aden, to animatronic love doll factories in Tokyo.
He started his career early as a teenager, covering the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and the fall of the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu, Somalia while he was studying in the Middle East. He first worked for Reuters and the Associated Press, covering a wide range of news stories in the area. He was also an intern at the New York Times. After university, he moved to Kazakhstan, where he documented the tragic consequences of Soviet nuclear weapons testing in Semipalatinsk. Recently, he has been covering the wave of uprisings that has rocked the Arab World.
Ed has been the recipient of a Global Vision Award, World Understand Award, and Photographer of the Year Award from POYi, a 1st Place Contemporary Issues award from World Press Photo, and other recognition from the Overseas Press Club, Ian Parry Scholarship, Best of Photojournalism, PDN Photo Annual, UNICEF, among others. He has been selected for a Getty Images Editorial Grant, PDN 30 Under 30, and took part in the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. In 2011, he was awarded the City of Perpignan Young Reporter Award.
In 2012, he was selected for the TED Fellows Programme.
He speaks English, Arabic, Mandarin, and gets by in Hebrew and French.
He is represented by Reportage by Getty Images and O'Born Contemporary.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibition: Revolution, October 1 – November 5, 2011


Selected Press

Summer 2012: TED Global Fellows 2012

October 2011: Ed Ou: Democraticizing Documentation, Mariam Nader for Canadian Art

October 6, 2011: Shot of Art: Dispatches from the Arab Spring, Derek Flack for BlogTO

May 1, 2011: Ed Ou (Interview), Douglas Haddow for ION Magazine

January 31, 2011: Getting Into Cairo's Byways (Interview), James Estrin for The New York Times Lens Blog

December 15, 2010: Shooters' Choice: Ten Memorable Documentary Photos from 2010, Whitney Johnson for The New Yorker

Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 7, 2011: Egyptian youth (left to right) Mustafa El-Kashef, 16, Hanin Tarek, 18, Ziad Tarek, 19 (holding laptop) and Amor Eletrebi (with cigarette) use laptops, posting video they shot earlier in Tahrir Square. Groups of Egyptian youth have been collecting testimonies and voices of the protesters in Tahrir Square and publishing them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 22, 2011: Young Egyptian couples sit in Al Azhar park during sunset, overlooking Cairo, Egypt.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 27, 2011: Egyptian activist Sarah Abdelrahman, 23, sits in a car on the way to a protest. Sarah is one of many young activists who use social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to rally crowds to protest and broadcast their grievances about the government.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 27, 2011: Protestors including Sarah Abdelrahman, 23 (center) demand justice for fellow activists killed by police during the revolution in Cairo.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 1, 2011: Egyptian protestors charge their mobile phones in a spider web of power bars and extension cords in Tahrir Square.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

July 13, 2011: Egyptian activist Sarah Abdelrahman, 23, yawns as she tries to rest in a tent during the early morning of a sit-in occupying Tahrir Square. Sarah's mother supports Sarah in her political activism, but her father does not.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 26, 2011: Egyptian activists Omer Shamy, Hana Rakhawi, 18, and Yusuf Bagato smoke cigarettes on the balcony of their friend's house in Cairo. During the revolution, they camped out in an apartment in Tahrir that was dubbed the "Facebook Flat", collecting testimonies and voices of the protesters in Tahrir Square, and publishing them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Since the revolution, they have tried to stay active in shaping the future of Egypt. They regularly attend protests, have started an underground newspaper, and are making a film about their experiences.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 22, 2011: Egyptian university students from Tanta celebrate their recent graduation in Al Azhar Park. It is quite difficult for new graduates to find employment in an economically struggling Egypt. The country's inequities and lack of opportunities have been further wounded by the revolution itself.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 23, 2011: Egyptian youth drink and smoke in a felucca (traditional wooden sailing boat) on the Nile. With over 60 percent of the population under 30, Egypt has one of the regions youngest populations, but youth have few employment opportunities, despite higher education.

Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 27, 2011: Egyptian activist Sarah Abdelrahman, 23, films out the window of a car on the way to a protest.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 8, 2011: Protesters gather in large numbers in Tahrir Square. After a week of clashes between protesters and Mubarak supporters, energy and momentum returned to the crowd after the shattering TV interview of released Google executive Wael Ghonim.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 11, 2011: A protestor kisses a soldier in front of a crowd in celebration of Mubarak's resignation.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

June 24, 2011: Egyptians walk past a collage of photos of protesters killed during the January revolution during a sit-in, demanding justice and prosecution of the police who killed them in Cairo, Egypt.

Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 3, 2011: Anti-Mubarak protesters clash with pro-Mubarak protesters in Tahrir Square. In the second day of clashes, both sides battle for control of the square, which has been the center of ongoing protests.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Jan. 28, 2011: Egyptian protesters take to the streets demanding the ousting of Mubarak on the largest day of unrest in Cairo.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 1, 2011: In the night and early morning before the "March of the Millions", protesters rest in Tahrir Square. Large crowds are expected to gather in the morning for the march, where protesters will converge on the Presidential Palace. The new vice president said Mubarak authorized him to speak with the opposition, and the army said it would not fire on protesters.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 1, 2011: An effigy of Mubarak hangs from a stoplight in Tahrir Square.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 3, 2011: Anti-Mubarak protesters hold improvised shields near Tahrir Square. On the second day of clashes, both anti- and pro- Mubarak protesters battle for control of the square, which has been the center of protests for more than a week.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 1, 2011: Egyptian protestors wave their shoes in the air after watching Mubarak's televised speech on a projected screen in Tahrir Square. Mubarak stated that he would not seek another term as president and institute constitutional reform, after President Obama advised that he should not run in elections in the fall.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 15, 2011: Relatives of Ramadan Ahmed and Ahmed Mahmoud in distress in their homes. The men were part of a neighborhood watch, protecting the streets, when they were taken by the military - there has been no word from them since. Since the uprising began on January 25th, a number of people have been reported missing, or taken to military custody and not heard from. Exact figures are unknown.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 12, 2011: Tahrir Square is cleaned, as Egyptian protesters pray the day after celebrations of Mubarak's resignation. He turned over all power to the military this week, ending his 30 years of autocratic rule and bowing to protests.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 2, 2011: A photo of Mubarak lies on the ground as anti-Mubarak protesters clash between pro-Mubarak protesters in Tahrir Square. Both sides battle for control of the square, which have been the center of more than a week of ongoing protests.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 5, 2011: A protester sleeps in a makeshift rest area in front of a military-protected buffer zone near Tahrir Square. The weekend started calmly as hundreds of thousands of people participated in a largely peaceful campaign by chanting slogans, bowing in prayer and waving Egyptian flags for the removal of Mubarak.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

July 1, 2011: Thousands of protesters returned to Tahrir Square to voice frustration with the slow pace of change five months after the revolution. The demonstration came just days after renewed clashes between protesters and the police left hundreds injured and underscored the lingering distrust between Egyptians and a police force long seen as a pillar of the former government.
Title:
Untitled, from Revolution
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
12 x 18 inches
Print Edition:
5
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
2
Dimensions:
44 x 66 inches
Print Edition:
2

Feb. 11, 2011: Crowds erupted in jubilation at the news of Mubarak's resignation in Tahrir Square.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Mohamed Adan Ugas)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Twelve-year-old Mohamed Adan Ugas, fighting for the Transitional Federal Government, disassembles his gun in a house in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Ahmned Hassan)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Fighting for the transitional government, fifteen-year-old Ahmed Hassan listens to the radio in his room in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Awil Saleh Osman)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Awil Saleh Osman (right), a twelve-year-old Somali fighter for the Transitional Federal Government, rests with his weapon beside a fellow soldier in a derelict house in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Guns Sleeping)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Fifteen-year-old Ahmed Hassan fighting for the Transitional Federal Government sleeps in his room with his weapon tucked under his pillow. Ahmed was sent to Uganda to get training when he was twelve. He was shot in the arm by the Shabab, the most powerful insurgent group.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Guns Smoking)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Fighting for the Transitional Federal Government, fifteen-year-old Ahmed Hassan smokes a cigarette while guarding a checkpoint near the airport in Mogadishu.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Guns Swimming)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Fifteen-year-old Ahmed Hassan dresses himself after swimming at a beach in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Title:
Untitled, from Children of Men
(Guns Two Boys)
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Working for the Transitional Federal Government, twelve-year-old Mohamed Adan Ugas (left) and fifteen-year-old Ahmed Hassan guard a checkpoint near the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Yemeni men walk through the streets of Sanaa's old city, lit by lights used during wedding celebrations. One of the poorest nations in the Arab world, Yemen faces a slew of problems raging from a paralyzing social addiciton to qat, growing Islamic fundamentalism, an economy dependent on declining oil resources, and a looming water crisis, all of which threatens the future of the country and stability of the region.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

A Yemeni security guards stands guard over the Talaha mosque in the old city of Sanaa.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Members of the Yemeni counterterrorism forces detain a mock militant during a live fire counterterrorism training exercise staged for the media outside Sana'a.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Yemeni children swing on a tree branch in the dry farmland beside the President Saleh Mosque in Sana'a, Yemen. Inagurated in 2008, the mosque cost $60 million to build- a cost that has angered many citizens of the poorest nation in the Middle East, questioning if it was an appropriate use of scarce resources.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Yemeni children climb atop a rusted out car in the dry farmland beside the President Saleh Mosque in Sana'a.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

A Yemeni man walks across a sedentary water reservoir in the village of Senaa, on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen. Water sources are quickly running out in the overpopulated nation due to the country's addiciton to qat, which takes more than half the country's water to grow. It is estimated that many underground springs which sustain over 24 million Yemenis will be depleted in a few years, which may further destabalize the country.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

A Yemeni military officer inspects photos of wanted Al Qaeda operatives from Saudi Arabia and Yemen in a military base in Sana'a.
Title:
Untitled, from Yemen
Medium:
Chromogenic Print
Year:
2010
Dimensions:
16 x 24 inches
Print Edition:
10
Dimensions:
32 x 48 inches
Print Edition:
5

Yemeni camel jumpers chew qat, a stimulant widely consumed in Yemen, before practicing their routine in Beit al Faqih, in the Tehama region of Yemen. The ritual of camel jumping is practiced by the Zaraniqe tribe.