-Living on Bombs, Raffaele Petralla, 5th recipient of EOMS INC Reportage Grant
Remains of the Secret War in Laos
Laos is the country that detains "the most per capita bombs in history". More bombs have been released on Laos than those dropped on Europe by the U.S. and Nazis during the Second World War. From 1964 to 1973 the U.S. Air Force dropped the amount of 270 million cluster bombs on the region - an average of one every 8 minutes - as part of a long military operation that was kept secret until 1991.
According to the National Regulatory Authority for Unexploded Ordnance, 30% of these bombs have remained unexploded causing 50,000 victims; 20,000 since the end of the war. This deadly legacy continues today to threaten the lives of thousands of communities in Laos. They still find themselves surrounded by unexploded ordnance: it will take about 150 years to reclaim the entire territory.
Laotians have spent about 20 years trying to escape the bombing, taking refuge in thousands of forests and caves where they've built schools and hospitals. Most of them don't want to enter the caves anymore, because the presence of negative spirits caused by atrocious deaths are still present.
There are all kinds of bombs scattered everywhere underground, hidden among the vegetation but also exposed on the streets, shops, ready to be sold and recycled. UXO Lao - Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Program - with the help MAG - an international NGO -, constantly operate in teams to clear community land from unexploded bombs.
In some remote villages bombs are used as pillars for houses while others villages base their business on the creation of everyday objects such as spoons, bracelets and pots, obtained from the recycling of bombs, missiles and even American B52 aircrafts, which have become fast canoes used to go fishing.
I started this project in Laos between November and December 2019 with the aim of documenting the remains of what was called the "Secret War" (1964-1973).
I came in contact with the NGO MAG which works to reclaim the area strewn with bombs. I met the members of an association that do its utmost to raise funds and handcraft prosthetics for the thousands of people who need them and I have been to some villages where bombs are recycled. Working on the field, while exploring and interviewing Laotians, I discovered the existence of dozens of large caves which were not only a refuge but also a home for thousands of Laotians, even in the years following the war. Some became hospitals and schools.
Doing my research, even consulting some documents desecretised (made public) by the CIA, I discovered the existence of numerous secret bases and airports used by the American army during the war.
My intent is to go back to deepen the theme with portraits and interviews with members of the MAG team; injured victims of unexploded bombs, manufacturers of handmade prostheses and families who base their economy on the production and sale of objects obtained from the recycling of unexploded bombs.
I intend to visit and photograph the villages inhabited by Hmong, the ethnic group that fought backed by the U.S. Army. Even today, the part of the ethnic group that has not managed to flee to the United States lives in a climate of tension with the Laotian government which has been in power since the end of the war.
Finally, I intend to document all the places used by both sides during the war: bases and airports officially declared as logistical bases to support civilians and instead used as starting points of the bombings and all the shelters used by the population. An in-depth and documented story as much as possible that can make us reflect on the persistence of the consequences that the war continues to cause.
-June 1 to July 30, 2023
-Residency Exhibition Year 5
One of our most popular yearly exhibition as many visitors of this group exhibition by talented world photographers will see themselves or their friends and family members on the walls of ACP. Ten photographers from July 2022 to April 2023 have roamed the streets of Wilson photographing every street corner or scene around Wilson county. It is always a fascinating exhibition showing the evolution of our city.
With photographs from Kalel Koven, Freya Maes, Rodrigo Paredes, Meg Hewitt, Andrejs Strokins, Simon Vansteenwinckel, Marc Chaumeil, Chau Cuong Lê and Peter Bialobrzeski.
Andrea Torrei will display a body of work made in Riga, Latvia, a Collaboration with ISSP, Riga, Latvia
-August 2 to September 3, 2023
-Hechio en Barrio, Jean-Félix Fayolle
Made in the Hood" – is the story of a Mexican youth from working-class neighborhoods, mainly in San Luis Potosi. Jean-Félix Fayolle presents an immersive work of more than 15 years in the depths of these stigmatized territories, their culture, and their inhabitants. These people are too often subject to prejudice, but they are especially in the front line of the explosion of violence linked to drug cartels in the last ten years. Understanding rather than judging.
-The Last Generation, Zoey's Dream, Bob Miller
As traditional midsize farms near extinction in America, rural farming children are reimagining their relationship to the land, and their future. Conceived to align with forthcoming Census of Agriculture data, The Last Generation examines how an unfolding renaissance on midsize farms is transforming rural America, while the latent, creative energy among female heirs is reviving generational farming legacies at risk.
-September 6 to October 3, 2023
-American Holidays, Julia Gillard
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