Kurdistan, my friend

Born in 1966 on the banks of the Mekong in Paksé, Laos, Hiên Lâm Duc followed his family in exile after the victory of the Pathet-Lao. From the night crossing of the Mekong to Thailand, two years in a refugee camp, two escapes, the journey he undertook to reach France left a lasting impression on him. In 1977, date of his arrival in France, he turned towards an artistic career and obtains his diploma of Fine Arts in Plastic Expression. This is his opening to the world that colors his photographic work with a humanist sensitivity. His commitment is reflected both in his personal projects and in his orders. for the press and for NGOs. Romania, Russia, Bosnia, Chechnya, Rwanda, Sudan and especially Iraq are the territories he covers. His testimony takes sense in the face of the massive destruction of the major conflicts of the end of the 20th century and from the beginning of the 21st century. Committed to the protection of natural resources, It also documents the impact of contemporary changes on the ways of life along the Mekong and Niger rivers. Since the Gulf War in March 1991, he became a direct witness to the suffering of the Iraqi population. A people bruised by the devastating consequences of the embargo international and the terror imposed by the Saddam Hussein regime. At the heart of Its goal: devastated hospitals, schools and markets express the shortages and weariness of the Iraqis. His work is noticed by the press, publishers and exhibition curators. He is notably the winner of the Prix Leica, the European Grand Prix of the City of Vevey, the Villa Medici Scholarship outside the walls and the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation Scholarship. His body of work portraits "People of Iraq" won the 1st prize of the prestigious Word Press Photo Hiên Lâm Duc's photography is a photography of necessity. Necessity to recover his history, his childhood, his identity, a necessity due to his own story, to bear witness so that others do not suffer one comparable, need to say. – Christian Caujolle