Tijen Erol participated in the 4th Berlin Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography following her recognition in the 7th Julia Margaret Cameron Award, an international photography award dedicated to women photographers and organised in memory of the pioneering nineteenth-century British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
Selected from an international field of participants, Erol was recognised for her work across several photographic categories, including street photography, the nude, Invisible Women, and themes addressing people, culture, and everyday life. Four of her works were presented as part of the Biennial exhibition in Berlin.
Her documentary project The Years In Between was also included in a special section dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. The work tells the story of a Jewish woman who lost her entire family in Auschwitz and reflects on memory, loss, survival, and the enduring traces of historical trauma. The project had previously received recognition in Moscow and had also been presented during the Istanbul Documentary Photography Days.
The Biennial brought together photographers selected through several international awards organised by the World Photography Gala Awards, including the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, Pollux Awards, Primary Colors Competition, Charles Dodgson Black & White Award, and Jacob Riis Editorial Award. The exhibition was held at Palazzo Italia in Berlin, a former pre-war hotel transformed into a large-scale exhibition venue.
Alongside the selected international artists, the Biennial also featured specially invited photographers, including Steve McCurry, with a presentation spanning four decades of his photographic practice, and Yusuke Suzuki, whose work focused on refugees.
Erol’s participation in the Biennial formed part of her continuing engagement with documentary photography as a means of addressing memory, displacement, human experience, and the lives that remain marked by historical rupture.