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Creative Shortlist
Things Fall Back into Place at Night and Other Stories
Sergio Meléndez Cava
Series description
‘Home initially appears as a complete and protective place, separating us from an outside world that feels distant and incomprehensible. When trauma occurs within it and is later silenced by the family, the home changes its nature, becoming a scarred archive where silence reorganises daily life.’ The photographer returned to this space with a forensic gaze, exploring fragmented memory and confronting what was concealed. Photography became an act of persistence, revealing how home, body, memory and trauma intersect through traces, gaps and enduring scars.
Night
The view from the photographer’s room towards a night heavy with clouds.
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Family Cut
A mural composed of family portraits taken over the years, each with the same cut the photographer’s parents once made to remove the abuser from family photographs. By repeating their gesture — meant to hide him and silence the story — the photographer reveals what their attempt to erase could not contain.
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
What Could Have Been
A photograph taken in the bunk bed where the events of the photographer’s childhood took place. Here it is seen as a prison enclosing a body that seems neither alive nor dead, a reflection of what could have happened had the photographer followed through on their suicidal thoughts.
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Seven Years
The photographer, aged seven, after the abuse had ended.
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Unmarked Landscape
‘In many migrant family homes, it is common to have a landscape picture on the wall. Here, the image has slipped from its frame; a painted home that appears warm, yet detached from its support, hinting at what may have unfolded within. In the background, the mountains seem heavy with rain, or tears.’
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Rooftop
The rooftop of the photographer’s home, where the characteristic architecture of Lima’s Cono Norte neighbourhood unfolds. The ever-present mountains accompany the view over Peru’s capital, no matter where you look.
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
Veiled Body
The photographer’s body, ‘wounded by light.’ The photographer explains ‘in this project, light represents truth — piercing and harsh in its clarity. At the same time, it appears to mirror the landscape of the place I inhabit.’
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards
The Light That Persists
The landscape seen from the photographer’s home, with rays that seem to rise from the mountains. ‘Light, like a truth that refuses to stay hidden, tries to slip through the scene, finding its way through the cracks.’
© Sergio Meléndez Cava, Peru, Shortlist, Professional Competition, Creative, 2026 Sony World Photography Awards