Muzaffar Salman is a Syrian photographer interested in depicting humans and their impact on the world around them. He was born in Homs in 1976. He earned a diploma in photography from the International Professional Center in Homs, and a certificate of experience in archaeological restoration from the University of Warsaw in 2003.
Salman won the Crossing Glances Photography contest in Rome, Italy in 2006. He also won the Cultural Resource Contest held in Cairo for his project My Fingers Point to Butterflies Only, a book of photos illustrating the positive emotional power of Arab life and clarifying the Arab people’s relationship with others and with their surroundings. He has participated in exhibitions in Syria and around the world.
In early 2013, Salman participated in a project from which all proceeds went to Syrian refugees living in refugee camps. The project, entitled “Art in Exile,” was sponsored by the Danish Centre for Culture and Development and included works by nine Syrian artists and writers. These works were presented in the form of posters, photographs, books and postcards and were sold at the Resistant Syrian Art Exhibition, which was held at the Circular Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark through May 12, 2013.
At one exhibition, Salman presented nearly 600 documentary photos showing the most violent and painful moments of Syria's modern history. His photos tell the story of the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011, especially the chants for freedom at Damascus’s Marja Square and Umayyad Mosque. He also included pictures of Aleppo, whose buildings have become nothing more than a symbol of devastation in a city searching for revenge. Through his work, Salman has captured the essence of the Syrian reality, in which pain mixes with hope, and loss mixes with dreams and a lost childhood.
In an interview with Netherlands Radio on Jan. 19, 2013, Salman said, "Every photo tells a story, capturing the details of faces, of the suffering, happiness and dreams of the people they belong to - their fear and tension speak louder than words.”
Muzaffar Salman’s Tumblr
