Narrative of Amir Čengić artistic practice

For the photographic black and white series ‘Refugees, migrants, humans’, Amir visited Sarajevo in May 2018. In this period a number of people who fled their countries set up camp in the center of Sarajevo, just across the iconic City Hall on the banks of the Miljacka river. Čengić concentrates on humanizing the stigmatized citizens of the world with the power of photography. By simply referring to the people that he photographs as human beings, each with his or her own individual story to tell, each with their own suffering, good and bad traits, personality, emotions, dreams and fears. His personal approach and patient observations results in intimate photographs that highlights human interaction and shows the personal struggles present in the refugee camp of Sarajevo. What is inspiring is his objective eye for aesthetic composition in capturing different moments, with equal respect and without making a judgement of the people or of the situation. His photographs touch the border of art and journalism, and should not be seen as mere documentation. The pictures shows us a story, a tale told poetically from begin to end, narrated by an objective and engaged eye.

About Creating Rights

Creating Rights was founded with the idea that art as a medium provides the subtlety and the perspective to analyze and discuss issues relating to human rights, international law, and justice. The interdisciplinarity of Creating Rights’ work allows for such issues to be exposed and explored outside of the traditional and professionalized frameworks they are developed in, thereby opening up a dialogue beyond national and thematic borders. For this purpose, Creating Rights supports projects led by artists, human rights activists, academics and law practitioners exploring human rights and transitional justice issues through art. It does so by giving them visibility or by providing assistance such as knowledge and expertise in the fields of human rights, international humanitarian law, international criminal justice, or transitional justice in general.