Portraitscapes of War is an on-going body of work, of which Lebanon 2006 is the first installment. These diptychs of portraits and landscapes were made in Lebanon during, and in the aftermath of, the Hezbollah-Israel conflict last summer (July 12 - August 14, 2006). Merging journalism with artistic practice, these portrayals of the impact of war raise questions about the relationship between individuals and the contexts in which they find themselves -- between citizenship and inhabitancy. People are both a part of and apart from the land. Caught in a place where there are aggressors on more than one side, victims of war may be defined by the conflict and denied their self-identities. They become so-called collateral damage. It is all too easy to forget that, like us, they are just ordinary people, but unlike those of us blessed with peace at home, they inhabit extraordinarily unfortunate lands. Here, I wanted to show the scale of destruction, but not take away from our ability to identify with the people. I was in Lebanon during the war, but I could just as well have made these kinds of images in Israel, or Chechnya, or Sri Lanka, or Iraq.
Opening reception at Harbourfront Centre, York Quay, Friday, September 14, 6-9pm
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