”Syria’s war: A Journal of Pain”, an exhibition of photographs by the Pulitzer prize winner photographer Narciso Contreras, will open on Saturday, November 29. Along with the author, the exhibition will be opened by Zlatko Dizdarević, journalist, former editor of Oslobodjenje Sarajevo and a longtime correspondent from the Middle East, and Paul Lowe, award- winning photographer and lecturer at the University of Arts in London. The exhibition is organized under the patronage of the ERSTE Foundation in cooperation with the War Photo Limited gallery from Dubrovnik.
Narciso Contreras is an award-winning photographer (born in Mexico, studied photography and philosophy); he has received international recognition, and his work was published in magazines such as New York Times, Der Spiegel, El Pais, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal etc. In addition to Syria, he has also covered conflicts in Cashmere, ethnic war in Myanmar, demonstrations at the Taksim Square in Istanbul etc. In the series taken in Syria, in areas controlled by rebel groups, Narciso Contreras offers an insights into the Syrian war and fragments from everyday life of the Syrian people. Scenes of suffering, pain and devastation bear witness to one of the most destructive conflicts of the Middle East. As a reminder, during the past three years of conflict between the Army of Bashar al-Assad and the rebel groups, almost 200,000 persons died and over seven million people were forced to leave their homes due to obliteration of entire villages. In addition to documenting and discussing the Syrian war, the exhibition symbolically entitled ”Syria’s War: A Journal of Pain” seeks to expose the myth of war alone, with focus on how war destroys the life of an ordinary man.
