Kürşat Bayhan
1981, Born in Malatya, Turkey
Lives and works in Istanbul.
In his works, Kürşat Bayhan focuses on the conflict zones in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine and Lebanon. In 2014 he published his book "Away from Home" and received the "Best Photography Book" award from Time magazine Photo District News Editors Annual in 2014. In the same year, he also received ,Japan, Grand Asian Photographer Award Photocity Sagamihara. He was nominated for Ones to Watch list by the British Journal of Photography in UK and awarded by Japan International Photographers Association with The Grand Jury Prize. In his recent studies the artist ,that currently continuing his works in İstanbul, focuses more on Turkey.
“In 2014, ISIS conducted attacks in many Iraqi and Syrian cities, including Sinjar, in Iraq and Kobane, in Syria. When ISIS took the control of Sinjar, the lives of its people changed significantly. ISIS killed hundreds of Yazidis and kidnapped many women, forcing them into (sexual) slavery. The ones, who were lucky to flee, sheltered in the mountains nearby Sinjar with very few supplies. They struggled with hunger and thirst for many days. After days of starvation, some Yazidis tried to leave the mountains with the help of security the corridor under very difficult conditions. These water bottles belong to the families who were able to flee to Turkey and more secure areas in Iraq.”
– Kürşat Bayhan
“Bayhan tries to find answers to the questions in his mind with photographs : ‘Sometimes a social and sometimes an environmental problem provokes me to start a new project. Any story that focuses on human relations, immigration, poverty, environment and conflicts attracts me.’”
– To Find a Language, Ilgın Deniz Akseloğlu, exhibist magazine issue 5.