Photographer Yusuke Suzuki: Discovering the meaning of war
October 10, 2016
Yusuke Suzuki's perception of the world changed when he discovered harsh realities during a trip to the Philippines with friends. Later, in 2006, he traveled to Afghanistan and met photographers and journalists. They inspired him to buy a camera.
Rather than pursuing his music studies, he decided to go to New York to study journalism and photography and become a freelance photographer.
"Photography has the power to make change," the photographer has written on his website. For his work, he traveled to some of the world's most difficult locations, covering battlefronts in the streets of Aleppo, forgotten daily life in Afghanistan, the desolate area around the Aral Sea and the sadness in Fukushima just after the Japanese nuclear disaster. "Someone has to tell these stories," says Yusuke Suzuki. Despite all the desperate situations, he always manages to show glimpses of beauty and tranquility in his photos.
His work has now been recognized at the Berlin Photo Biennial, where he received the Young Emerging Talents Award. It is the Japanese photographer's 11th award.
His photos are on display along with the works of more than 440 artists at the Palazzo Italia in Berlin up to October 30.