BANGALORE, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Unique Exhibition to Showcase Photographs of the Ravages of War in Iraq
The Turkish Embassy and the Sublime Galleria present an exclusive Photography Exhibition of eminent humanitarian photojournalist Niko Guido who has travelled the world to highlight the plight of war-torn societies. The heart-rending photographs will be on display from March 23rd to 27th, 2013.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130321/602063)
The exhibition is a part of the anti-war photography project to bring to the fore the plight of wounded Iraqi civilians of the Iraq war. This exhibition will be held on the same day (23rd March 2013) in over 8 countries around the world - like USA, UK, France, Turkey, etc to name a few, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war. The effort is an initiative to showcase to the world as to how the war has affected the lives of the civilians in Iraq and to say "No to War".
Adds Uzma Irfan, Founder of the Sublime Galleria & Executive Director, Corporate Communications, Prestige Group, "The travails of war leave behind a steady trail of misery and destruction, while permanently impacting the lives of scores of innocent in its path. This exhibition in association with the Turkish Embassy is an effort to highlight this travesty and to encourage people to think about ways and means for a peaceful world sans war."
Notes from the Photographer Niko Guido
I've been to Amman, capital of Jordan, in 2010 as well as last year, portraying Iraqi civilians who had plastic surgeries.
Let's be clear: Our brains, fed up by visual media, are not affected by powerful imagery as they used to just a few years ago. It is getting harder every single day for the documentary photographer to draw attention to the problems of the World and Humankind. It is for this very reason that we decided on an exhibition format in which we are bringing "the voices and the photographs" together.
On my last visit, an Iraqi, who had more than 30 operations on his face, commented as follows: "We don't want your civilization, money or modern living... Just LEAVE US ALONE."
Suru is 8 years old and has 3 sisters and 4 brothers. Suru doesn't like
animals. She likes to play with dolls and she misses her friends very
much. She was born in Kirkuk, Iraq.
One day a truck loaded with bombs exploded while she was playing with her
dolls at home. Because of the impact of explosion, the fuel tank in the
house exploded as well. Suru's face was covered by flames and burned
completely. She had a serious injury and was taken to Sulaimaniya for
treatment. Unfortunately the treatment ended up with a failure after
which, she was brought to Amman. Doctors tried to replace and stitch
burned parts of her face with skin from other parts of her body, but the
little girl's body reacted badly to this treatment and rejected the skin
which caused the stitched parts to fall off.
Dear Suru,
It was an intense strain, aching pain that I felt in my heart when I first saw you. I was looking at you but alas without seeing you at all. Probably you've noticed; I was hidden behind my camera, and even when I didn't take pictures I pretended as if I did.
You, in return, smiled at me. That is when I perceived your beautiful eyes and the burn stains on your face slowly faded away. Then you approached and cuddled me, we stayed embraced for minutes, motionless. I kissed your beautiful eyes, and your pretty cheeks, caressed your scorched face. You held my hands strongly, without letting them slip away. I felt disgraced; It was me who was utterly perplexed and trying not to look at you, trying to avoid you.
Why should you be ashamed of your wounded, scorched face! Go out, walk among the crowd, it is not you to be ashamed but me, us, all the people! We are the reason of your injuries. We couldn't protect you at the bomb explosion when you were only three. You can't even remember your pristine face. When I look at you, I understand how cruel we can get just for the sake of money, richness and wealth.
I apologise for the name of humanity. You've lost your family, friends and your future because of this war. Even if the whole world will close their eyes in order to avoid you, me and my friends will never close our eyes, keep them wide open looking directly at your beautiful face.
Don't sorrow my beauty, don't sadden my beautiful princess.
My tears are because I have finally seen you. See, I no longer avoid looking at you.
Simply because you are so beautiful and we are so monstrous.
- Niko Guido
About Niko Guido - the Photographer
Niko Guido was born in Istanbul. After attending Galatasaray High School, he finished his studies at Bosphorus University, earning a degree in engineering. After having worked many long years in the tourism sector, he finally decided to turn his passion, photography, into a career.
Today his photographs, exhibited in Venice, Paris, Istanbul and Izmir, can be found in newspapers and magazines in Turkey and throughout the world. The success of his nude photography in Turkey led him to gain international recognition. The French book "Nude Art Today", considered the reference by the worldwide arts community on nude photography, drawing and sculpture, devoted two pages to him in its 2008-2009 edition.
In 2008, Niko created an exposition titled "Smiles Without Handicap" to profit the Association of paralyzed in Turkey. In 2009, he photographed throughout South America. He subsequently carried out projects in Haiti, Japan, Myanmar, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The photographs from these trips were published in numerous magazines, including National Geographic. In Haiti, Niko worked with UNICEF to organize a collective exposition titled "Support for Van" with 30 other photographers.
About Sublime Art Galleria:
Sublime Galleria, located at UB City, India's first Sky Gallery, founded by Ms. Uzma Irfan - Director, Corporate Communications, Prestige Group in 2009, is known for its encouragement and support of the Fine Arts and the Performing Arts. It holds exhibitions showcasing the talents of not only famous artists but also of up-and-coming artists.
Strongly believing in the need to support young and upcoming artists, Uzma Irfan founded Sublime Galleria to help provide a platform for them to exhibit their work. Uzma believes that fine art is an integral part of our rich culture and we should strive to keep these art forms vibrant and accessible to society.
Sublime Galleria has promoted the works of several artists across categories. Some examples of the mélange of work exhibited at Sublime in the past include 'Genesis' by Simran K.S. Lamba - a unique presentation of mixed media artwork in coal tar, and more recently, 'Crossroads' - a unique celebration of Fine Art by four leading artists - G. Subramanian, Gurudas Shenoy, Jasu Rawal and Milind Nayak.
Sublime Galleria has earlier showcased the works of Aamina Shazi, Amit Sharma, Anoop H., Ashish Parma, C.P.B. Prasad, Devanshi (Tina), Farah Ahmed, Kalabhakesari, Manoj Masand, Pallon Daruwala (Established Artist), Pragya Jain, Priyanka Gupta Agarwal, Rupesh Patrick, Shukla Chowdhury, Simran K.S. Lamba, Soraya Taher Merchant, Srividya and Tala Afsin.
Primary Media Contact: Reenu Vijayakumar, [email protected], 91-9900238847
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