Pictures of the week: Iraq Is Flying, by Jamal Penjweny

Three Iraqi soldiers jump up in front of Baghdad’s Hands Of Victory monument, aka The Crossed Swords, their forms partly silhouetted against the sky.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Photographer Jamal Penjweny spent years documenting the war in his home country, but not like this: with Iraq Is Flying, he wanted to avoid images of death and destruction, and instead depict real people, bringing them alive.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Penjweny was born during the Iran‑Iraq conflict in 1981 and became a young adult in the latest Iraq war. 'War has always been part of my life,' he says, 'so I wanted to change that with my work.'→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Starting in 2006, he photographed ordinary children, men and women, US and Iraqi soldiers across the country, all leaping into the air.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Flying is a metaphor that works on many levels. 'I wanted to show how we all carry a bit of the child within us, and to show a side to Iraq that isn’t tragic,' Penjweny says.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

When he was a child, he would dream of being able to fly, yet the closest he’s come is inside a war plane. Jumping into the air – a form of flying – is different, he says: children usually do it with joy or happiness, and he wanted to capture that spirit.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Getting your subjects to do something a bit silly is also, as any photographer will tell you, always a good ice-breaker.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Penjweny came to international recognition last year with his work at the Iraq pavilion at the Venice Biennale.→ Photograph: Jamal Penjweny

Saddam Is Here showed ordinary Iraqis holding an image of Saddam Hussein over their faces. 'He is still here,' the photographer says. 'Iraqi society cannot forget him, even after his death. People either still love him or are still afraid of him.'

Jamal Penjweny’s solo exhibition, Saddam Is Here, is at Ikon, Birmingham from 19 February-21 April; ikon-gallery.org for details. Photograph: Jamal Penjweny