All the people we meet, all the things we know, and all of our experiences shape our souls, forever marking our faces. This was probably the main idea of the performance piece created by Chinese artist Zhang Huan, in which his face was painted over by three calligraphers with the names of people he knew, personal stories, and random thoughts. Truly, it amazing just how much we can find out about a person just by looking at their face. Surely, not everyone has the ability to see into the soul of the person just by looking at their face, but those that do can easily see the person’s personality, their intelligence, and sometimes even get glimpse into their past. Though it sounds like magic to people who don’t have this ability, it is completely true. Somehow, our mind can pick up on the miniscule changes of the facial structure and figure out the dominant facial expressions of that person. (Photo by Zhang Huan)

Growing cities, overuse of fertilizers and factory wastewater have degraded China's water supplies to the extent that half the nation's rivers and lakes are severely polluted. China aims to spend $850 billion to improve filthy water supplies over the next decade, but even such huge outlays may do little to reverse damage caused by decades of pollution and overuse in Beijing's push for rapid economic growth. Photo: Fishermen row a boat in the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 19, 2009. (Photo by Jianan Yu/Reuters)

A protester peeks out from behind of a banner as supporters of anti-immigrant activists and nationalists march to protest against the Polish governments decision to accept migrants from Syria and North Africa, in Warsaw, Poland, September12, 2015. EU President Donald Tusk said he would call a special summit on the migration crisis if the bloc's interior ministers do not display “solidarity and unity” at emergency talks on 14 September about the thousands of migrants streaming into Europe. (Photo by Jacek Turczyk/EPA)

Descendants of American Southerners Wearing Confederate-era dresses and uniforms dance during a party to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil, Sunday, April 26, 2015. For many of the residents of Santa Barbara d'Oeste and neighboring Americana, in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state, having Confederate ancestry is a point of pride and is celebrated in high style at the annual “Festa dos Confederados”, or “Confederates Party” in Portuguese. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? As of today, over 30m tonnes of electronic waste has been thrown out so far this year, according to the World Counts. Most e-waste is sent to landfills in Asia and Africa where it is recycled by hand, exposing the people who do it to environmental hazards. Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers. (Photo by Kai Loeffelbein/laif Agentur)

Shot by Bert Hardy, the black and white images show prisoners carrying out remedial tasks such as untying knots in post office string and sewing mail bags. Other intriguing shots show lags doing their daily one hour outdoor exercise, being frisked for contraband items by officers during a routine “rub down” and serving evening meals. Strangeways was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and cost £170,000 ($207,910) to build. The prison, famed for its prominent ventilation tower and imposing design, has become a local landmark. Here: A prison officer frisking prisoners during the “rub-down” at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, UK on November 1948. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

An Indian woman reacts while performing yoga at a railway station on International Women's Day, organised by Heal-Station in association with Western Railway, in Mumbai, India, 08 March 2023. (Photo by Divyakant Solanki/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

These kaleidoscopic images are the work of one persistent photographer’s efforts to capture vibrant hues at the exact moment a wave breaks. Ryan Pernofski‘s stunning shots feature brilliant yellows, reds, blues and purples as an array of sunlight hits the water at the perfect time. What’s even more impressive: Ryan, a 27-year-old Australian, began shooting his popular masterpieces without using a professional camera, taking his iPhone out into the water instead. Ryan began experimenting with this method in 2012, using an underwater housing to protect his phone, as he could not afford a professional camera. (Photo by Ryan Pernoski/Caters News Agency)