CHRISTIAN WERNER, GERMANY

TURKEY: CIRCUMCISION RITE

Every year, about 1.5 million Turkish boys have their foreskin removed to officially become a member of their religious community German photographer Christian Werner observed that the boys feel obliged to follow this tradition. “Sünnet” is the Turkish word for this surgical procedure. Apart from wedding and military service, Sünnet is the most important event in the life of a Turkish man. Parents, relatives and friends prepare for weeks for the day when ceremonial vestment makes the boys look like princes. But after the ceremony, when the local anesthesia fades, the boy’s face and posture show his pain.

In May 2011, the German photographer was allowed to capture the work of Turkey’s most famous surgeon, Kemal Özkan. Which was by no means a matter of course for him, coming from a different cultural background.

Curriculum Vitae: Christian Werner

Christian Werner is a freelance photographer based in Nordstemmen, Germany.
As a teenager he developed his interest in photography while traveling to foreign countries.

Since 2009 he’s studying photojournalism at the University of Applied Sciences in Hannover.

His main interests are social diversity and global political issues. The areas of interest is mainly the arabic world and culture.

Since 2012 Christian is represented by agency laif.

Books

2011 »10 years Photojournalism & Documentary Photography«
2012 »Istanbul«

Exhibtions

2010, group exhibtion »Nach Neuem Trachten«, Berlin, Hannover, Bruxelles
2011, group exhibtion »10 years Photojournalism & Documentary Photography«, Hannover
2011, group exhibition »Foodphoto Festival«, Tarragona
2011, group exhibition »Istanbul«, Hannover

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