January 26th - March 6th, 2015
The University Museum, with funding from the UNH English Department, hosted an exhibit and related programs entitled Conflict Zone: Photojournalism from the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a collection of images from the front lines and the post-war home front, captured by combat photographers and journalists, both military and civilian.
A formal opening was held on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 5 PM and included an artist’s walkthrough by Nathan Webster, a Lecturer of English at UNH whose photography was part of the exhibition.
Conflict Zone was established in 2010 to honor Joao Silva, a New York Times photojournalist who lost both legs to a landmine in Afghanistan. Chris Hondros, Joao’s colleague and a Conflict Zone featured photographer, was killed in Libya in 2011. Conflict Zone is now dedicated to him.
About Conflict Zone, Hondros had written, “These wars, like any, have engendered heroic actions, foolish mistakes, noble sacrifices, base cruelty, and even their share of philosophical dead ends. Perhaps some shadow of these realities can be glimpsed in this collection of pictures.”
Nathan Webster said, “Audiences, especially college students, need to be informed about our nation’s overseas conflicts. This large-format photography will connect to viewers more dramatically than a small newspaper photo, or digital image only glanced on a website.”
Webster reported from Iraq as a freelance photojournalist from 2007-09. In addition to his Conflict Zone work, other examples of his photography will be displayed.
The exhibit also included a reading and discussion with Elliot Ackerman, author of the novel Green on Blue. Ackerman has written for The New Yorker and Daily Beast and is a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.
More information can be found at ConflictZone.org and ElliotAckerman.com.
