What about war photography, does it still have an influence on the unfolding or the ending of conflicts in the world, what traces does it leave to posterity ?

These are the questions that the exhibition The Shadow of War asks, presented until September 25th, 2011 at the MEP (European House of Photography). An exhibition organized by Contrasto, in the framework of the project Science for Peace of the Veronesi Foundation (1).

As emphasized by Alessandra Mauro, co-curator of this exhibition with Denis Curti : « The photographers presented here recount a part of the recent history of humanity. There are 90 images, more or less known, of conflicts that cast a shadow over the world from 1936 to 2007 ». The curators effectively began with the Spanish civil war, as it is « a conflict that inaugurated the era of modern photojournalism, and we decided to stop in 2007, granting ourselves a minimum of 4 years of perspective in regards to the current burning situation, a distance needed for this type of work… »

Bernard Perrine
Institut de France
Académie des Beaux Arts
Bernard.Perrine1@orange.fr

The Shadow of War
Through September 25

Maison Européenne de la Photographie
5 /7 rue de Fourcy
75004 Paris
+33 (0)1 44 78 75 00