Hot shots:  A visitor passes photographs on display at the 2015 World Press Photo exhibition held at the Erasmus Huis Dutch Cultural Center in Jakarta.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is so, an exhibition of some of the world'€™s top photographers must be a text of epic proportions.

Through the lens of photographers, unseen places and moments are revealed '€” from a boat full of refugees in the middle of the Libyan coast, Ebola-stricken areas in Sierra Leone to an Islamic school for transgender people in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Those images are part of the 2015 World Press Photo Exhibition at Erasmus Huis, South Jakarta, which showcases works by 41 photographers of 17 nationalities.

The event, which runs until March 12, displays the winning images of the 58th annual World Press Photo contest that drew 97,912 entries from 5,692 professional photographers coming from 131 countries.

Top performer: The first prize in the nature category by Yongzhi Chu from China depicts a rhesus monkey and its trainer getting ready for a training session in Suzhou, China.

World Press Photo is an Amsterdam-based non-profit organization that aims to generate public interest in and appreciation for the work of photographers and other visual journalists, as well as to promote the free exchange of information.

The exhibited photos are divided into eight categories: contemporary issues, daily life, general news, long term projects, nature, portraits, sports and spot news.

Danish photographer Mads Nissen'€™s photo of a gay couple enjoying an intimate moment in St. Petersburg, Russia, was selected as Photo of the Year, and won first place in the contemporary issues category.

The photo is part of his larger project '€œHomophobia in Russia'€, which aims to document the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people that have become increasingly difficult in the country.

A jury member Alessia Glaviano said that Nissen'€™s photo had a message about love as the answer to everything that happened in the world nowadays.

'€œIt is about love as a global issue, in a way that transcends homosexuality. It sends out a strong message to the world, not just about homosexuality, but about equality, about gender, about being black or white, about all of the issues related to minorities,'€ she said in a statement.

The general news category captures photos on news topics and their aftermath, and the photo by Italian photographer Gianfranco Tripodo of a migrant hiding from the Guardia Civil beneath a vehicle in Melila, an enclave of Spanish territory in North Africa, also won the attention of visitors.

The black and white image stunningly captures the subject'€™s fear of being captured by the police officers. According to Tripodo, three 6-meter-high fences separate Melilla from Morocco, but thousands of people keep trying to cross them to reach Spanish soil in search of a better life.

Chinese photographer Yongzhi Chu presents a photo concerning the nation'€™s controversial animal circuses, which have been banned by the Chinese government, but are still rampant as circus trainers are unaware of the regulations and have no intention of stopping the practice.

The heart-breaking picture shows a monkey cowering behind a bicycle as its trainer approaches.

Apart from single pictures, the event also exhibits photo stories that invite viewers on a visual journey to take a deeper look into certain issues.

In the long-term project category, American photographer Darcy Padilla displays a captivating photo story that follows the life of Julie Baird and her family for 21 years, from 1993 through to 2014.

Padilla first met her subject in the lobby of a San Francisco hotel, when Baird, who was HIV positive and had a history of drug abuse, was 18 and carrying an eight-day-old child.

She took a picture of her with her three-month-old daughter at the hotel, and also captured her depression after the sudden death of her father.

A series of pictures after Baird'€™s death in 2010 is also presented, revolving around the life of her second daughter, and her partner Jason Dunn who was charged with sexual abuse of a minor.

'€œBy focusing on one woman'€™s struggle, I hoped to provide an in-depth look at social issues surrounding disadvantage and HIV, but I also wanted to create a record for Julie'€™s children of their mother'€™s story,'€ Padilla said.

All submitted photos were assessed by 17 jury members who looked for the combination of news values, journalistic standards, and the photographer'€™s creativity and visual skills in each image. In the case of stories and long-term projects, the editing of the material submitted was also taken into account.

Photos then went through three stages of verification to ensure compliance with the competition'€™s code of ethics and entry rules.

One of the judges, Donald Weber, said the World Press Photo was more than just a photo competition due to its ability to generate public debate.

'€œThe winning image fosters debate '€” about who we are and where we'€™re going and what we'€™re trying to say '€” not only within the photo community, but also in the larger community. The images are seen and discussed by tens of thousands of people,'€ he said.

'€“ Photos by JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

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