Finn Wilson

Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, commercial traffic has reduced by 95%, with serious implications for global fuel supplies. The blockade has been enforced with missiles, drones, and mines. However, while oil fixates the minds of the public, there is more to the Strait than the flow of fossil fuels. Hormuz is a hotspot of biodiversity in an otherwise inhospitable region. With high summer water temperatures and salinity, the Persian Gulf’s ecosystems are uniquely adapted to living on the edge.

Image Credits: Collections Get Archive I thought that Barcelona, being the capital of separatist Catalonia, might have a different relationship with memorialising the 39 years of oppression. Barcelona played a pivotal role in the war. Once an anti-fascist stronghold, the city soon became the site of the republican infighting that led to the Francoist victory. I became inspired to retrace George Orwell’s steps as a communist party soldier, which he famously described in Homage to Catalonia.