To mark the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war we asked internationally renowned Peter Kennard for an interview (published tomorrow) and for use of some of his photomontage. With @earth they have sought to use photomontage to depict the reality of war and uncover what the mainstream media largely ignores.
The following is a breathtaking artistic representation of war in general and Iraq and Afghanistan in particular. This judgment will be plain for all to see and already has overtures from recognised places.
“I take my hat off to you Sir, @earth looks great” – Banksy
“What you hold in your hands is a harrowing X-ray of the shadow side of the world … If there’s a word that’s worth a thousand pictures, it’s @earth. “ – Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo
@earth is as revolutionary in form as it is in content. It is a story without words told in the universal language of photomontage, long the favoured medium of radical artists. For the past four decades Peter Kennard has consistently challenged power structures and injustice, from his anti-nuclear works of the 1980s to the powerful images he created in response to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
@earth is a photo-essay in seven chapters, combining new works, made together with Tarek Salhany, with iconic images from throughout Kennard’s 40-year career.
Shocking, haunting and unsettling, @earth makes a powerful statement about the current eco-crisis, the arms race and the injustices dominating today’s world.
Peter Kennard was born in London in 1949. He is senior tutor in photography at the Royal College of Art and his work is in many major collections, including Tate, the V&A and the Imperial War Museum. His work has been published in numerous publications including The Guardian, The Observer, Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Scotsman, New Statesman and Time Magazine.
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Some further reading:
