Homeless Palestinian families, who have fled their homes because of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, take shelter at a school run by the United Nations in Gaza City January. 6, 2009 in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
Photograph by: Abid Katib, Getty Images
EDMONTON - In a quiet gallery space tucked away from the hustle of weekday business, a travelling exhibit of raw and frightening wartime photographs is now on display downtown.
The organizers of Human Drama in Gaza hope the collection of 44 photos will open eyes to the human toll of conflict in Palestine.
The images were largely culled from the work of photojournalists on the ground in Gaza during an Israeli military offensive called Operation Cast Lead. The strike lasted three weeks, from late 2008 through January 2009, leaving more than 1,000 dead and thousands more injured, by the most conservative estimates.
Though wider shots of explosions and broken buildings are present for context, most of the images zero in on Palestinians whose lives were torn apart in the war. There are intimate shots of men and women in moments of unfathomable grief, panicked citizenry under fire, even dead children. One photo shows the body of a girl, buried up to its head in rubble.
“It’s not the easiest exhibit in the world to look at,” says Scott Harris, who volunteers with the Palestine Solidarity Network. The local activist group brought the sobering show to Edmonton with the Canada-Palestine Cultural Association and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
“It’s not just about Hamas or rockets. It’s about children,” says Harris, who was in the West Bank during Operation Cast Lead. “The suffering that you see in these photos is continuing today.”
The exhibit is free, and open seven days a week through to Nov. 29. Visitors will find the photos framed neatly, discreetly, in a little white fraction of vacant space the Art Gallery of Alberta once occupied in Enterprise Square. Attendees squeeze past big glass doors on one side of the food court and hang a left.
A free public reception will take place Friday at 7 p.m. to officially open the exhibit. Food, music and poetry are planned. Human Drama in Gaza is open noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends at Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave.
The organizers of Human Drama in Gaza hope the collection of 44 photos will open eyes to the human toll of conflict in Palestine.
The images were largely culled from the work of photojournalists on the ground in Gaza during an Israeli military offensive called Operation Cast Lead. The strike lasted three weeks, from late 2008 through January 2009, leaving more than 1,000 dead and thousands more injured, by the most conservative estimates.
Though wider shots of explosions and broken buildings are present for context, most of the images zero in on Palestinians whose lives were torn apart in the war. There are intimate shots of men and women in moments of unfathomable grief, panicked citizenry under fire, even dead children. One photo shows the body of a girl, buried up to its head in rubble.
“It’s not the easiest exhibit in the world to look at,” says Scott Harris, who volunteers with the Palestine Solidarity Network. The local activist group brought the sobering show to Edmonton with the Canada-Palestine Cultural Association and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
“It’s not just about Hamas or rockets. It’s about children,” says Harris, who was in the West Bank during Operation Cast Lead. “The suffering that you see in these photos is continuing today.”
The exhibit is free, and open seven days a week through to Nov. 29. Visitors will find the photos framed neatly, discreetly, in a little white fraction of vacant space the Art Gallery of Alberta once occupied in Enterprise Square. Attendees squeeze past big glass doors on one side of the food court and hang a left.
A free public reception will take place Friday at 7 p.m. to officially open the exhibit. Food, music and poetry are planned. Human Drama in Gaza is open noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends at Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave.
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment