Oum Kalthoum Through the Lens of French Photographer Bruno Barbey

To capture the timeless, legendary and iconic status of Oum Kalthoum through the lens of a camera is not an easy task. Yet one photographer in particular was able to express this beautifully through the art of photography – capturing very well the spirit of a nation through an iconic voice.

Bruno Barbey is a Moroccan born French photographer, who studied photography and graphic arts at the École des Arts et Métiers in Vevey, Switzerland, and his work covers various cultures and continents, such as Nigeria, Vietnam, the Middle East, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Kuwait.

He has received numerous awards, including the French National Order of Merit, and a lot of his photographs are exhibited worldwide and in various museum collections.

Below are the photographs of Oum Kalthoum captured by Bruno Barbey – documenting human experience through a clever color contrast and visual architecture.