Palau Martorell is a beautiful small city palace in Barcelona. Although it does not have a permanent collection of its own, it has already hosted several major exhibitions in recent years.

The exhibition Icons by Steve McCurry is spread across three floors. A deep fir-green backdrop frames the extraordinary photographs throughout the exhibition. Dark, almost mystical rooms alternate with lighter, more open spaces, creating a very special atmosphere.

“Some of the best photographs are taken during the journey itself, not necessarily upon arriving at the destination.” —  Steve McCurry

The exhibition also features two film presentations in which Steve McCurry answers many questions about his work: how he photographs, who makes his work on location possible, how he chooses his subjects — or sometimes how they simply appear before him.

He is a fascinating and widely travelled man who already knew at the age of 19 that his future work would somehow have to involve travel. Photography became the answer, allowing him to fulfil that dream. Now aged 76, he has not only travelled through countless countries — visiting India around 80 to 90 times alone — but has also been able to look deeply into the lives and souls of an extraordinary number of people.

McCurry also explains that he travels and photographs because he wants to contribute his own part to history. He has worked on the front lines of various wars as a photojournalist and documents traditions, cultures and daily life around the world in order to preserve them for future generations. At the same time, his work challenges us here in wealthy Europe to look more closely at realities beyond our own.

The presentation itself, combined with Steve McCurry’s passion and ambition, already makes this exhibition one of the highlights of Barcelona’s cultural summer.

But now, let us turn to the photographs themselves.

“I have seen children working in fields, factories, trenches, tunnels, mines and scrapyards. Hundreds of millions of children spend their childhood working and have no opportunity to play, go to school or grow up in a healthy environment.” — Steve McCurry

On the upper floor, the major theme is “childhood”. We see children from different countries — boys and girls, most of them from impoverished backgrounds. They are already working, handling weapons, playing in ruins, and most of the time their expressions appear sorrowful…

Among these portraits, two are particularly well known: two images of girls from Peshawar, Pakistan. One in red and green tones, the other in grey-green hues. Both are striking, both from 1984, both girls are from Afghanistan, both in a refugee camp in Pakistan. Perhaps they even knew each other?

Here, however, we will focus on the girl in green and red on the left, as this is perhaps the most famous photograph by Steve McCurry: Sharbat Gula.

McCurry himself recalls seeing her sitting alone in a corner of a school, immediately captivated by her eyes. She had never seen a camera before and watched him take her portrait with great curiosity. After a minute or two, she ran off — and he knew he had captured an important image.

But he could not have imagined just how monumental it would become. He published the photograph in National Geographic, and the world was fascinated. Many people wanted to know who the girl was, to send her money, even to adopt her. And for the following 27 years, McCurry himself did not know her identity — until she was finally found in 2002. There is even a documentary about it!