Cihad Caner Wins the Photographic Museum of Humanity 2013 Grant
Cihad Caner, from the series Remaining, 2012
Instanbul-based photographer Cihad Caner has won the Photographic Museum of Humanity 2013 Grant for his documentary series Remaining, which tackles the ongoing civil war in Syria through portraits and environmental photographs. From March 2011 to the present, over sixty thousand people have died in the Syrian civil war, and seven hundred thousand have taken refuge in other countries. The individuals who remain in the region are the focus of Caner’s series, for which the photographer captures black-and-white portraits with Polaroid film, as well as images of surrounding landscapes, anonymous interiors, and urban decay. “This series is not about the explosions, neither about the conflicts, nor dead people, but about the effects of war,” says the twenty-three-year-old photographer. “It shows the relationship of the remaining people with the remaining places and their environments.”
Cihad Caner, from the series Remaining, 2012
A prestigious jury formed by Magnum photographer Martin Parr; Kira Pollack, director of photography at TIME; and Young Reporter of Perpignan 2012 winner Sebastian Liste selected Caner’s series from a pool of over one thousand one hundred international submissions. Of Caner’s winning series, Parr commented, “Cihad offers a very fresh approach to dealing with the tired and depressing Syrian problem. By taking a side view and combining these elegant portraits and urban decay with text, he brings a fresh perspective that is most welcome.”
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Currently in its inaugural year, the Photographic Museum of Humanity Grant is an international photographic contest organized with the aim of providing financial support for talented photographers and discovering new talents. For more on Cihad Caner and the Remaining series, visit Cihad’s Photographic Museum of Humanity Grant 2013 portfolio page.
