The landscape of photography has changed so much since 2003. This article will introduce you to our favourite images from across the past two decades.

VR headsets. Iconic buildings. Lush greenery. Bold portraiture. These five finalists shine for their technical skill and original approach to storytelling.

Jess T. Dugan’s tender images explore themes of gender and sexuality, as well as love, desire, loss and the dichotomy of looking and being looked at.

It’s been ten years since “selfie” was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries. Chrissy Lush is interested in the power of self portraiture.

Anastasia Samoylova holds up a mirror to the reality of life in Florida, presenting a multi-dimensional view of people and places threatened by climate crisis.

Land art emerged in the 1960s as a result of a growing interest in nature preservation. Desert X responds to the legacy of this seminal movement.

This year’s shortlist – comprising 21 talented international artists – is a testament to shared creativity in a time of rapid change.

Julia Nimke’s evocative photographs ooze “wanderlust” – a word which describes the feeling of longing to travel, adventure and discover.

A hypnotic installation at Lightroom, London, journeys through six decades of David Hockney’s renowned painting, photography and digital drawing.

“I’ve realised my art can have more purpose than just hanging on a white wall.” Aïda Muluneh captures the imagination in powerful, change-making imagery.

Centre for British Photography, London, presents a new exhibition of Heather Agyepong’s boundary-breaking and genre-bending work.

Nhu Xuan Hua’s exhibition in Frankfurt draws on her Vietnamese heritage, producing narratives that engage with themes of identity, origin and history.

What do relationships look like in the 21st century? 23 photographers come together to document the foundations of human connection in today’s world.

Karl Roberts sees the landscape as a blank canvas – an environment in which he can “create the magic he doesn’t see in the world around him.”

A group exhibition revisits the sunshine motif – as established in hit musical ‘Hair’ – cautiously offering hope through new, golden visions of the future.

Sixty global practitioners experiment with analogue and digital photography to offer new perspectives on the topics that are shaping modern-day life.

A MoMA retrospective offers a “critical reintroduction” to five decades of photographer Ming Smith’s experimental practice.

Love has provided inspiration throughout art history. Here are five photographers – all featured in Aesthetica Art Prize – who document devotion.

Women have been at the forefront of every stage of the photographic revolution. Now, pioneering artists are responding to sustainability and climate.

Refik Anadol is an artist at the cutting-edge of a fast-developing medium, using AI to craft breathtaking digital experiences from various and vast datasets.

Colour is fundamental to art. A group show celebrates the ways pigments convey intense emotions, incite symbolism and connect people.

Yayoi Kusama’s installations offer the chance to “become one with eternity,” encouraging a detachment from reality with twinkling lights.

Pavlo Fyshar’s work is characterised by a sense of discomfort. Playful pastel pinks and greens draw the viewer in, yet the world they find is off-kilter.

Books. Pianos. Window frames. Suitcases. Clothes. These are just some of the items to be found tied up within Chiharu Shiota’s mesmerising installations.

Cinematic lighting, mysterious locations and enigmatic characters. These are the hallmarks of Julia Fullerton-Batten’s history-drenched pictures. The artist launches a major solo show.

Aesthetica marks 20 years since the first issue was published. This edition is dedicated to the power of creativity, the arts and independent print.

Experiences of forced migration are examined through utopian dreams. Duo Cooper & Gorfer expose the inner and outer realities for women.

Dreamscapes is a world of elegant imagination. James Tralie’s digital renders reconstruct natural environments and architecture into serene scenes

Maria Lax’s spellbinding images utilise innovative camera techniques to transform figures, buildings and plants into cinematic, otherworldly creations.

Celebrate the publication’s 20th anniversary as one of the founders discusses how the magazine has become a trusted voice in contemporary art.

Nadine Ijewere’s fashion photography redefines narratives of beauty, encouraging more diverse representation in front of and behind the camera.

Isaac Julien dismantles restrictive boundaries of genre and medium. Now, a landmark exhibition surveys four decades of his experimental practice.

Prince Gyasi incorporates vibrant palettes into intimate portraits of figures from his hometown, documenting the spectrum of human emotion.

Sebastiaan Knot’s geometric compositions are calculated manipulations of light. Shapes in bold colours are crafted through analogue techniques.

Victoria Sambunaris’ large-scale landscapes monitor human impact on the natural environment, illuminating water shortages and ecological crises.

Discover this year’s Future Now line-up, bringing together award-winning artists for talks that engage with themes from our rapidly changing world.

“A strange fluorescence occurs when certain minerals and materials are subjected to ultraviolet radiation.” Cody Cobb captures this phenomenon.

The Parthenon is an icon of global architecture. Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang draw inspiration from its once-colourful artistic embellishments.

99 portrait photographers chronicle the past 12 months through the eyes of everyday people, key workers and national treasures from across Britain.

There is an inherent sense of mystery about forests. Here are five photographers – all featured in Aesthetica – who put them front and centre.

German photographer Jan Prengel looks beyond still life – instead capturing flowers and plant stems in motion, over an exposure time of 2-3 seconds.

Mark Power visualises historic weather reports, imagining beautiful, daunting seascapes of blustering winds, endless rainfall and churning waves.

Studio Brasch’s new images, crafted using the latest AI tools, combine fundamentals of Japanese Ikebana with abstract sculpture and new technologies.

Bernd and Hilla Becher blurred the lines between media, documenting now-demolished industrial structures across Europe and the United States.

Jamal Nxedlana is intent on creating “an alternative image repertoire to tackle biased views of Africa”, whilst celebrating Johannesburg’s cultural pioneers.

German photographer Tom Hegen’s aerial photographs investigate salt production, and the complex relationship humans have with the planet.

The history of aerial image-making can be traced to the mid-19th century. Michal Zahornacky reduces man-made structures to lines, curves and colours.

London Art Fair’s contemporary photography show returns, foregrounding artists who engage with Black and diasporic heritage through the lens.

“What does it mean to collect and exhibit?” This is the starting point for a group show that contemplates the role of galleries and museums.

Past and present collide in Omar Victor Diop’s work. The Senegalese photographer takes cues from western portraits to portray Black pioneers.