Jan Grarup (Danish, b.1968) has over the course of his eighteen-year career photographed many of recent history’s defining human rights and conflict issues. Grarup’s work reflects his belief in photojournalism’s role as an instrument of witness and memory to incite change, and the necessity of telling the stories of people who are rendered powerless to tell their own.





Jan received the first prize in the highly prestigious photographic competition, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011, for this project: "Haïti Aftermath".






The central theme of his project, ‘Haiti Aftermath’, focuses on the massive earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 and its consequences. A precise count and identification of the victims is difficult due to the enormous devastation.





The number of victims can only be estimated, and the government assumes a death toll of around 300,000 people, with more than three million affected by the quake.





The earthquake is considered to be the most severe quake in the history of North and South America. Jan travelled to Haiti on an assignment for various magazines to document the catastrophic consequences of the natural disaster.





He sees his mission as a photographer as much more than the simple depiction of the current situation. The aim of his black-and-white shots is to generate emotion.





The earthquake took everything the Haitians had: their belongings, the roof over their heads, their friends and relatives. Their lives lie in ruins.





Fear and despair is written on their faces. They have lost all they ever owned and often even risk the only thing left to them in the search for food and water: their lives.





The police and private security forces attempt to protect the remaining stocks of provisions and do not hesitate to defend them with weapons.