HAFIZ

In the photo series Hafiz, the Turkish photographer Sabiha Çimen (1986) portrayed students of Turkish Quran schools for girls that teach the memorisation of the verses of the Quran. These students are studying to achieve the title of ‘hafiz’, which would make them ‘guardians of Islam’. In powerful portraits, alternating with everyday images of school life, Çimen aims to capture the individuality and adventurous characters of these young women, while at the same time referring to her own experiences of studying at a Quran school. Interlaced with a sense of nostalgia, Çimen focuses her lens on the contemporary reality of life in this closed-off world. During the Paris Photo Fair 2022, Çimen received the First Photobook Award for her debut photo book Hafiz.