Born in Basra to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, Sama Alshaibi’s life has been marked by change and by movement. But one near constant has been her fascination with the power of the image:

In this extended conversation, Alshaibi discusses the varying currents that run through her work—the body, the traveler, the desert, humanity’s relationship with its surroundings—as well as her more personal inspirations. If ”creativity is the movement of energy,” then Alshaibi seems filled with both, in wonderful excess.

Enjoy!

—LensCulture

Editors’ Note: If you’d like to learn more about Alshaibi’s work, don’t miss the review we wrote of her first monograph, “Sand Rushes In.” You can also learn more about her through her photographer’s profile below.