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Hinomaru, Japanese National Flag 1962 by Kikuji Kawada, from the series The Map.included in the exhibition, photographer
Diana Matar travelled to Libya. In Evidence
(2012) Matar photographed sites where
acts of political violence had taken place
during the years 1977-2001, both during
the Gaddafi regime and the Libyan Civil
War that followed. The series was shot
at night and depicts empty architectural
structures, void of movement or people.
Matar identified the locations after a
period of extensive research that included
conversations with local human rights
workers. She explains: ‘As is often the
case with human rights violations there is
rarely any physical evidence of the crime,no body, no marked grave, and no forensic
evidence.’ In most cases these buildings
or landmarks are the only trace left to tell
the story, and in the absence of any official
record the images stand in as ‘evidence’of the events which took place. As well as
embodying an event in physical space the
work goes beyond this, highlighting the
ongoing effects of conflict on individuals,
families and communities that experience
the ramifications for years to come.I
n the mid 1960s, 20 years after the
atomic attacks on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, many Japanese photographers
made seminal works about the events.
The extensive list of iconic photo-books
from this period forms a large part of the
exhibition, including installations related
to key works by Shomei Tomatsu and Kikuji‘In most cases these buildings
or landmarks are the only trace
left to tell the story, and in the
absence of any offi cial record the
images stand in as ‘evidence’ of
the events which took place.’©Kikuji Kawada08-14_CNFLCT-TM_PHTGRPHY_171 ER/MB.indd 1208-14_CNFLCT-TM_PHTGRPHY_171 ER/MB.indd 12 05/11/2014 10:2305/11/2014 10: