Narciso Contreras

Mexico City, 1975
Lives and works in Stockholm

Narciso Contreras is an award-winning documentarian photojournalist born in Mexico City in 1975.

Since 2010 he has been covering a variety of issues and topics in Southern Asia, North of Africa, Middle East, Europe and Mexico, leading him to focus his work on the humanitarian consequences of conflicts, economics and wars. His work intends to contribute building our visual memory of the world he testifies.

His studies in philosophy, photography and visual anthropology led him to live and study in a monastery in India while photographing religious communities. Since then, he has contributed documenting issues like the ethnic war in Myanmar, the conflict in Gaza strip, the political upheavals in Istanbul and the tribal conflict in Libya. His work was recognized internationally for widely documenting the war in Syria, the military coup in Egypt, the war in Yemen, and for being the first to hand over to the international community the proof in photographs of the network of human trafficking and slavery of migrants in Libya in 2016.

Narciso’s photographs have been exhibited at galleries, museums and photo festivals in Europe, Asia, USA and Mexico. His photographic work of the Syria’s war is part of the collection of the Museum of War of Dubrovnik, and in 2017 his photo exhibition "Libya: a human marketplace" at the Saatchi gallery in London, was recognized the most visited exhibition of photojournalism in the world and the third in the photography category with more than 520,000 visitors. His work was awarded including the Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category, POYi (Pictures of the Year), the Carmignac Photojournalism Award and the Lucas Dolega Award, among others.

Narciso has contributed to magazines, newspapers and publications worldwide like TIME, New York Times, The Guardian, Paris Match, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, Der Spiegel, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, LEFT, Vogue, L’Espresso, Expressen, Knack, dS Standaard, Wirtschafts Woche, Internazionale, Die Zeit, Aftonbladet, Corriere della Sera, among others. He has contributed also for non-governmental organizations like MSF (Doctors Without Borders), UNHCR (the United Nations High Commission for Refugees), SOSMediterranee and MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station).

AWARDS

2019
Center of Documentary Photography. Direct Look Photo Contest (Finalist)

2018
Lucas Dolega Award (recipient)
World Report Award. Master Award category (Finalist)

2017
World Reoprt Award. Master Award category (Finalist)
PX3, Silver Prize Professional Press, General News (recipient)

2016
Bayeux-Calvados Award for War Correspondents (finalist)
FotoEvidence Book Award (Finalist)

2015
Carmignac Photojournalism Award (recipient)

2013
Pulitzer price - Breaking News Photography Category
Pictures Of The Year - 3rd prize Spot News Singles Category