By Abby Moriarty, Staff Writer
The University Museum is set to showcase a traveling exhibit comprised of wartime photographs and other related works produced by renowned combat photographers and journalists.
The University Museum, located on the first floor of Dimond Library, presents, Conflict Zone: Photojournalism from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a multimedia art exhibit featuring a compilation of images taken from the front lines of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Independence Fund designed and produced Conflict Zone as a nonprofit project in 2010. The project was originally inspired by and created for Joao Silva, a photographer for The New York Times, who lost both of his legs as the result of a landmine blast in Afghanistan.
Joao Silva worked as a photographer for the New York Times, documenting war zones until he lost his legs in a landmine blast. Photos by Silva and other war-zone photo journalists are featured in the University Museum.
The exhibit has since been re-dedicated to honor one of Silva’s colleagues and original driving forces behind the project, Chris Hondros.
Hondros was also a featured photographer for Conflict Zone, and was killed in Libya in 2011.
More background information on the exhibit can be found at conflictzone.org.
An opening reception will take place on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 5 p.m., with Nathan Webster, a lecture of English at UNH, hosting a walkthrough.
Webster’s personal photography is also featured in the show along with over 30 other individuals.
Webster said that these types of events are important because even if the media presents the war as being “over”, people need to be aware that it is not.
“This isn’t political – these are true events that happened to real people, and it’s sometimes ugly and it’s sometimes interesting and it’s sometimes funny, but it all happened – you are looking through a photographer’s eyes and they have translated that world for us viewers back at home.
“I think seeing these images in large-format photography is much different, much more dramatic and much more intimidating and real, then seeing them in small digital displays on a computer where we don’t give it any thought. These large images will confront a viewer and will lead to a little more thought about them.”
This event made possible by the funding support from the University English Department, the Dimond Library and the Center for Humanities.
Conflict Zone will run from Jan. 26, to March 6, open Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Tuesdays 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
