MSF to highlight war-wounded patients' resilience at photo exhibition in London

02 October 2025 - Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is launching From the Ashes, I Rose, a free weeklong exhibition at London’s Oxo Gallery from 29 October 2025, celebrating the resilience and strength of patients at our reconstructive surgery hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman.

MSF UK has partnered with the Egyptian photographer Rehab Eldalil and the international festival of photography, Cortona On The Move, to bring this multimedia show to the Southbank. ​ 

The Amman hospital provides specialised rehabilitative care to war-wounded patients from across the Middle East, including medically evacuated children from Gaza. ​ 

Since 2006, the facility has been offering surgery, physiotherapy, mental health support, and prosthetic fittings. ​ 

This participatory, multidisciplinary exhibition confronts the devastating effects of warfare on civilians in countries such as Palestine, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. ​ 

Yet instead of focusing on the suffering of patients, the photographer has worked with them to reinterpret their experiences as profound acts of resilience and resistance. Their injuries are depicted as sources of strength and empowerment, metaphorically transformed into superpowers. ​ 

Rehab Eldalil said “In a world full of injustice and pain, one might often feel helpless. But I personally found inspiration and resistance by meeting and working with patients at the MSF hospital in Amman. Despite enduring horrific violence, they are united by extraordinary strength and resilience, surrounded by the support and care of the hospital. Their trauma is metaphorically transformed into superpowers. I have had the utter privilege and honour to celebrate their triumph over darkness through this project, and I invite the audience to join in this dialogue through the exhibition.” ​ 

A complementary photographic exhibition depicting the lifesaving medical work of MSF around the world, featuring interactive activities for children, is being held alongside From the Ashes, I Rose. ​ 

The shows run from Wednesday 29 October to Sunday 02 November 2025 at the Oxo Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House St, Southbank, London SE1 9PH, 11am–6pm daily. ​ 

ENDS

Oxo Tower Wharf is an award-winning mixed-use building, home to a creative community of designer-maker studios and showrooms, gallery and event spaces, shops, and cafes all at the heart of London’s South Bank and Bankside. Right on the riverside, visitors can browse, buy and commission from independent small businesses ranging from fine jewellery, luxury ceramics to neon lighting, leather goods and much more, in addition to fine dining at the world-famous roof top restaurant. The iconic building with its famous art deco tower is owned and managed by Coin Street, a local social enterprise creating a thriving, diverse, and welcoming place for people to live, work and play. Visit: www.coinstreet.org ​ | Instagram: @oxotowerwharf