Series description
Superstition and good luck charms survive, even in the age of AI. They influence the actions of millions of people around the world and have helped humans cope with the uncertainties of life. The list of examples is endless: world-renowned surgeons who do not operate on Friday the 13th, famous racing drivers who repeat the same gestures before every race, operas and plays whose names cannot be mentioned because they are thought to bring bad luck, making the sign of the horns, crossing your fingers or knocking on wood, changing direction if you see a black cat, keeping amulets and talismans, and so the list goes on...
Marquesan tattoos (patutiki) on a man's chest and right arm in Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. The tattoo in pre-European Polynesian society was a sign of belonging; it defined social rank, was linked to rites of passage, and served as a sacred symbol that conferred strength and protection.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Ex votos displayed at the entrance of the Ex Voto Tattoo Napoli store on Via De Sanctis, Naples, Italy. Taken from the Latin ex voto suscepto (‘from the vow made’), an ex voto is a votive offering that in Christian tradition is usually made to a saint or directly to God as a sign of gratitude or devotion.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The grave of Italian singer-songwriter Mia Martini, in Cavaria con Premezzo, Varese, Italy, who died on 12 May 1995. The real cause of death has never been ascertained, but in the 1970s and 80s rumours spread that she brought bad luck, leading to her abandoning the stage for almost 10 years.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
An animist girl from the Sara people is given a veil made of green beads to cover her face during a ceremony of initiation and passage to adulthood in Moundou, Chad. In various cultures around the world, rites of passage may involve tests of courage, infibulations, tooth removal, scarification, haircuts and fasting.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Francesca Burza reads tarot cards during the Bibione Holistic Festival in Bibione, Italy. Divination through fortune telling is a technique that has been around for centuries, blending skill and superstition.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
A hand making horns for sale in a store on Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy. This apotropaic gesture can be given to ward off bad luck, but is also a symbol of infidelity, depending how and where it is performed.
© Alessandro Gandolfi, Italy, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Still Life, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards