Goran Tomašević is a living legend. He has not only survived in conflict zones for 30 years, but he also masters the art of photography, interpreting the world in the most humanistic way, following in the footsteps of Robert Capa and James Nachtwey.
This powerful, terrible book conveys a Dantesque vision of our humanity. The current circumstances, this morning in Ukraine, make us believe that this madness will never stop and continue to break our hearts. Admiration for Goran Tomašević, a wonderful Caravaggio of photography! Francis Kochert, Académie nationale de Metz, February 24, 2022.
Look to the man to discover the photographer. His father has just sold a bike and offers him his first camera, an ancient FED 5V. Goranis 13 years old and does not yet know that this precursor to the Leica will allow him to make rapid progress, helped by his older sister’s boyfriend, a professional photographer. And will turn his life into a permanent adventure – setout across the 444 pages of this exceptional volume, a major contribution to the great journey of photojournalism and a must-see history of the past 30 years.
Goran Tomašević never cut off his Serbian origins. On the contrary, although he was already fascinated by Africa and the Middle East, he began by covering the situation in Croatia and Bosnia in 1991, responding to requests from the local press, including the Kosovar daily newspaper Pristina. With the teachings and affection of his father and grandfather in mind, Tomašević devoted himself first and foremost to the deep crisis that raged between NATO bombings and anti-Milošević demonstrations.
The quality of his reports, the force of his images allowed him to join the famous Reuters agency in 1996 to become, over the next 20 years, one of the most award-winning photographers in the world. “If you want to make the facts authentic, you have to be where they are. So that’s the challenge. But it’s harder”, he says in an interview, “when the stories are happening in your home. That’s what hurts the most.” This confession reveals one of the reasons for his humanity, which permeates all his reports, from Pristina to Kabul, and his whole photography, already a highly significant, expressive oeuvre in the world of photojournalism. The pictures by Goran Tomašević are more needed than ever to recognize the truth of the facts and the respect owed to each viewer, citizens without borders of our totally digitized planet. Alain Mingam, president of the World Press Photo Contest 1994 and vice president of Reporters Without Borders 2013 – 2015.
Goran Tomašević, born 1969, is a Serbian photographer. Working for Reuters, he has spent more than 20 years travelling around the globe to cover the world’s biggest stories. His pictures of wars and revolutions are among the most important images of the conflicts in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, South Sudan, Pakistan, Mozambique, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Burundi or Nigeria. Tomašević’s work has been recognized with many prestigious international awards. He has been named “Reuters Photographer of the Year“ four times, received the first prize in the “Spot News Stories“ category at World Press Photo, the “China International Press Photo of the Year“, the “SOPA Award of Excellence for News Photography”, the “London Frontline Club Award“ and the “Days Japan“ award. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. The Guardian’s photo team chose Goran Tomašević as their agency photographer of the year for 2013. Interna- tional Business Times UK chose Goran as their agency photographer of the year for 2016. In 2019, Tomašević and several of his colleagues from Reuters were awarded with the Pulitzer Prize Breaking News Photography award, for covering the mass migration of Central and South Americans to the United States
GORAN TOMAŠEVIĆ
David Thomson
Jean-François Leroy & Vincent Jolly Alain Mingam
29 × 31 cm
444 pages
254 photos
English, French, German
Hardcover
Weight: 4 kg
ISBN 978-3-903101-91-3
EUR 59,00
https://edition.lammerhuber.at/en/books/goran-tomasevic
EXHIBITION
Goran Tomašević
“Between War and Peace”
Visa Pour l’Image Perpignan, France
27.08. – 11.09.2022
https://www.visapourlimage.com/
