Photographer of the Year

In 2011, my dear friend and the photojournalist, Anton Hammerl, travelled to Libya to cover the conflict between pro-regime and anti-Gaddafi forces. On 5 April he was forcefully abducted and killed by government militia. Frustrated by the lack of progress in the investigation to find his mortal remains, in 2022 I took matters into my own hands and travelled to Libya. This previously unseen body of work is structured as a self-portrait of Anton Hammerl through the people he photographed and met, and others involved in the conflict (freedom fighters or their descendants, ex-militia, local residents, Gaddafi loyalists or lookalikes, and so on). They were selected because they resembled him, espoused similar ideas and beliefs, or reminded me of him at different stages of our friendship. This project portrays a complex story, warped by absence, that talks of the difficulty of documenting, testifying, witnessing, remembering, honouring and imagining.

Edgar Martins has exhibited internationally. His work is represented in multiple museum, corporate and private collections. He was the recipient of Thames & Hudson & RCA Society Book Art Prize 2002, The Jerwood Photography Award 2003, the New York Photography Award 2008, the BES Photo Prize 2009, the SONY World Photography Award 2018, etc. His latest book was shortlisted for the Paris Photo & Aperture Photobook Awards 2020. Edgar Martins represented Macau (China) at the 54th Venice Biennale.