Pictures Without Borders Exhibition

This exhibition contains photographs from Bosnia-Herzegovina taken over thirty years apart. Such time often brings significant change, but in the years separating these photographs, 1970-2003, the changes in Bosnia were enormous. Some changes resulted from the collapse of communism, the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and the emergence of Bosnia as an independent country. This emergence also led to violent and horrific events that transformed the Bosnian landscape and population. People were killed or forced to relocate and places were destroyed. Lives were lost, both physically through death and emotionally through the destruction of homes, photographs, and family heirlooms.

These photographs document some of that loss. They provide a chronicle, a reminder, and a witness to that destruction. They save a fragment of what has been lost. What emerges is proof, in clear black and white images, that the lives and cultural monuments that some sought to erase from the landscape, did exist. The photographs in this exhibition remind us that pictures can help people retain their identities. They are pieces of our individual and collective pasts and bear witness to the lives, struggles, and accomplishments of individuals and communities.

The Bosnian War of 1992-1995 introduced the new euphemism “ethnic cleansing.” Those mostly targeted were Bosniaks (ethnic Slavs and religiously Muslim), primarily by Serb forces but also by Croat fighters. During the war over 600 mosques were intentionally destroyed. In Sarajevo, Serb artillery demolished the national library and other institutions whose contents provided proof of the depth and richness of Bosnian culture. Against attempts to eradicate a people’s identity, photography–and the visual arts more broadly–stand as witnesses and provide a basis to reclaim what has been destroyed.

The wars in the former Yugoslavia between 1992 and 2002–including Kosovo and Macedonia–involved conflicts between religions and cultures. They were conflicts of identity and belonging and this explains why groups fiercely attempted to eliminate others, and any hints of their existence. These were not wars primarily fought over territory or power; they were wars over whether distinct groups of people had a right to exist in that region.

While such conflicts had been intermittent for centuries they punctuated much longer periods of co-existence and cultural exchange. The region is no more condemned to unceasing conflict than any other region of the world. Let us hope it soon will return to its successes of mixing religions and ethnic identities.

This exhibit presents part of photographer Steve Horn’s efforts to contribute to such a future. As Steve writes: 

Through this “connection,” through our common humanity these images of change, loss, resilience, and hope can speak to a universal regard for human dignity. These images not only address the value of turning our attention toward that common humanity but also call us to keep it there. They urge us not just to look carefully but to see deeply. This show and these pictures are dedicated to a time when we fully realize that no one of us is less than another. These pictures document stories of struggle, of strength, and of beauty and resilience. Within this exhibition are photographs of lives before war, echoes of the horrors of war, and, ultimately, of the reconstruction of a country and of people’s lives.

I hope to create a connection between you, the viewers, and the people in these images whose lives and efforts I respect and honor. I am convinced that by making an effort to connect across cultures, we can develop a greater awareness of how much we share with one another.