On the Refugee Trail to Europe

In 2016 Hinton followed the route taken by hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing war in the Middle East, in what became the largest refugee crisis since WWII. With a camera and sketchbook in hand, he followed the refugee trail from Istanbul to Chios, Lesbos, Athens and Idomeni, documenting the individual stories behind news headlines.

On the Refugee Trail to Europe brings together Hinton’s documentary photographs, sketches and oil paintings to explore conditions of life within Greece’s refugee camps. The work responds to a racially charged debate on immigration and rising anti-Islamic sentiments, giving light to perspectives of ordinary people who have become displaced as a result of war and terror. Hinton's incongruous images of idyllic Greek islands dotted with displaced people reframes the current political debate, humanising the thousands of displaced Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who have undertaken the journey into Europe.