Bosnians

A man stands at the entrance to a narrow ‘sniper’s corridor’, struck by a shaft of light, deliberating whether or not to dash across; a couple embrace lovingly on a terrace overlooking Sarajevo; in a tavern a young man, intoxicated by wine, breaks into song while another looks on ironically; turbaned Muslims pray facing Mecca in a Bosnian meadow; a human skull is matched to a photograph of its former face.

The presence of death is felt in Paul Lowe’s photographs: war and its terrors are evoked in images notable for their stillness, reminding us that exploding buildings and screaming faces are only the most obvious ways of showing devastation. But here is life too, for the Bosnians have survived, mourned and moved forward. Lovers, harvesters, old men, rambunctious children and fashionable boulevardiers populate the pages of this book, as do images of snowy fields, rebuilt bridges, and parties.

The accompanying text includes an essay by veteran BBC correspondent Allan Little reflecting on his experiences of the war in Bosnia, as well as a number of acute observations from various Balkan writers and newsmakers, alongside handwritten comments by Bosnians themselves written in response to the images in the book.

Paul Lowe has worked as a photojournalist since 1988, during which time he has covered news and current affairs stories in over 80 countries, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Romanian Revolution, famine in Africa, and the break-up of the Soviet Union. From 1991 to 1999 he documented the destruction of Yugoslavia, spending months in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo during the siege. For the past 10 years he has lived between London and Bosnia. He currently leads a Masters programme in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication.