TOKYO-2019 Editorial / Conflict

Kabristan-Land of Graves

  • Prize
    Gold in Editorial/Conflict
  • Photographer
    Simone Mestroni
  • Technical Info
    Canon 550d (apsc)+sigma 17-50 Os
  • Photo Date
    2017-2018

Kabristan, meaning graveyard in Urdu, is an attempt to represent the paralyzed potential of Kashmir's conflict, the mixture of anthropological, emotional and ideological elements temporary static like tombs, but ready to explode into a new stage of violence. The project, based on a long term ethnographic research was developed in Srinagar, the valley's main city, and it blends different aspects of the relation between people and the pressure of the past, primarily perceived as a deadly and tense atmosphere which intertwines with inner and outer landscapes.

Simone Mestroni has developed visual storytelling skills along with his fieldwork research on ethnographic aspects of Kashmiri conflict. While completing his PhD in anthropology he has been working as fixer for photographers in India. Simone's ethnographic book on Kashmir “Lines of Control” (Meltemi 2018) is presently used as textbook for anthropology courses. In October 2017 his first documentary “After Prayers” has been awarded with the Wenner Gren foundation postdoctoral grant. He's deeper perspective photographer of the year at IPA with “Kabristan-Land of Graves”