Archive of Strangers' Memories
Archive of Strangers' Memories
“At the heart of contemporary expectations and ethical ideas lies the notion that war is a deviation from the norm, albeit a persistent one. That the norm, albeit unattainable, is peace.” - Susan Sontag
Throughout its history, war photography has played various roles, from historical evidence capable of evoking compassion, moral condemnation, and fear, to an overt tool of ideological propaganda. And if, for centuries, a detached and delayed view was required to depict war in words or pictures, with the development of technology, we now habitually watch war live. The photographs in this exhibition tell the story of photography during a relatively short but very important period of war, from 1939 to 1945, when the invention of small-format cameras allowed both professional photographers and amateurs to capture events from the inside for the first time.
The photographs, carefully selected by artist Artur Bondar and accompanied by his explanatory texts, serve as visual evidence, historical documents, and photo diaries. The exhibition is based on a collection of unknown negatives, official photo collages, and personal items gathered over three years at European and Russian flea markets, as well as during search expeditions. The exhibition's narrative revolves around the history of Western and Soviet military photography. Each of the six rooms reveals different aspects of photography—from public and official to personal, from subjective to impartial, from patriotic to humanistic, from concrete to abstract. The dramaturgy of the exhibition leads the viewer from faceless photographic materials in Soviet newspapers through author's photo archives to the artist's contemporary book — perhaps the most appropriate way to view war photographs today — slowly, alone, without commentary.
Never seen before, these photographs reveal another perspective on history and offer a new interpretation of events. This exhibition is also an attempt to restore the deserved recognition of photographers who worked on the front lines: Valery Faminsky, Alexander Kapustiansky, Oleg Knorring, Sergey Loskutov, Yakov Khalip, Eberhardt, and other unknown authors.
2019-20, New Wing of Gogol House gallery (Moscow, Russia)
