Waiting for the Rainbow

North Korea remains one of the most secluded countries, isolated under a strict dictatorship that limits contact with the outside world. Waiting for the Rainbow by Xiomara Bender offers a rare, honest glimpse into the lives of its 26 million inhabitants. Through her powerful photography, Bender captures the everyday routines and subtle changes in this closed-off society, highlighting the gradual shifts in self-assurance, smiles, and fashion.

Bender, who has traveled to North Korea nine times over ten years, aims to break the global culture of ignorance surrounding the country. Her images, accompanied by thoughtful, non-didactic texts, offer an unflinching look at the lives of its people and their state-controlled routines, prompting reflection on the transformation of a nation in micro-steps.

Travel is her passion; the search for the moment she fixes with the camera. With remarkable empathy Xiomara Bender photographs people. She is unfamiliar with gimmicky staging, but respect is all the more important. The German-Swiss photographer left her home country at the age of 17 and went to India to finish her schooling in an English boarding school. She then attended the Technische Kunsthochschule in Berlin. Numerous national and international awards recognized her distinctive imagery early in her career. Xiomara Bender photographs with Leica and is a Leica ambassador.