"The Crossing" is a photographic project by Andrew McConnell/Panos Pictures based on night portraits and testimonies from people rescued by the SAR Prudence boat in International Mediterranean Sea waters in July 2017.

Andrew McConnell: "The project is a series of portraits made onboard MSF Prudence at nighttime under moonlight. They are taken in three locations - the SAR zone off the coast of Libya, the mid-Mediterranean, and anchored off the coast of Sicily. They are somber in tone and this is an important element that speaks of the experience of anyone who has attempted to cross the Mediterranean. Each portrait is accompanied by a testimony which explains the reasons why the individuals have left their home and risked their lives on this journey.

The main character in the series is the Mediterranean Sea. The Med is seen in each shot, it’s moonlit reflections swirl and dance within the frame, often merging with the person in a shimmering haze. It is ever-present, like some fickle sentinel, deciding who will pass and who will not. In many of the images the individual appears to be submerged by the sea, indeed it is unclear whether or not they are sinking in the water or rising from it. The effect adds to the eeriness of the set and it seems the viewer must ask the question - is what we are seeing here a series of ghosts? In this way the images are ultimately an acknowledgement of the lives that have been lost in the Mediterranean over the last number of years."