TITLE: Voices of grief

In the Italian city of Canosa di Puglia, the ‘Desolata’ procession transforms the streets into a landscape of mourning. Led by Maestro Ezio Masotina, hundreds of black-veiled women chant the ‘Stabat Mater’, a medieval hymn of sorrows, turning a centuries-old Holy Saturday tradition into a visceral, collective expression of the Virgin Mary's grief.

AUTHOR: Bart Rubik (Poland)

Polish documentary photographer exploring how faith is expressed through beliefs, ceremonies, rituals, and religious festivals across cultures. He develops the long-term project Stories of the Sacred, documenting humanity’s relationship with spirituality and transcendence. His work also examines broader social issues, focusing on how communities navigate tradition, identity, labor, and change, often in remote environments. His photography has been published and exhibited in Poland.