In February 2017, Giles Duley visited EMERGENCY projects in Iraq with the aim of showing the world what was happening in Mosul.
The exhibition is Duley’s photographic story of the path that war victims face, from first aid to rehabilitation.
Hi Giles Please introduce us to your project “Iraq: an open wound”?
This is a project I did with Emergency earlier this year. I have covered conflicts for over a decade, but I knew from speaking to the Emergency Staff that what they were witnessing coming from Mosul was unlike anything they’ve seen before. I knew I had to tell the story.I have been photographing the effect of conflicts for many years and one of the things I was trying to find something positive in the images with Mosul and the Emergency Hospital they built it was a struggle because really the suffering was on a scale, it was unprecedented.
It was hole family devastated, whether it would be children dead, parents missing, babies found alone every story was a tragedy that you really could not say that there was appositive angle. And for the first week I didn’t even take any photograph, I find it too hard to pick up my camera and point it to anybody and it was really only when one of the mothers has said to me in conversation when I was talking to her about the photography and she said when a photographer shot something like this then all the world can see so really this photograph represents her wishes not mine.
How do you hope the readers to react to this exhibition?
I think there isn’t one only way you can react and there is no way you cannot react with horror and disgust and this is a very simple message and a very simple blunt photograph. I don’t want to shock people I don’t want to upset people but this is the reality of what is happening in the world right now and we cannot pretend that we are not involved in some way, that we are not integrated with the story and it is my due to remind people of that so it is a very simple message, it is very obvious what the message is, and it was that the work can never be beyond this.
Did you have any specific references or sources of inspirations in mind when you were working to this exhibition?
You know, I mean, throughout this career there is many photographers that have inspired me through images and you know a lot of painters, writers, but really, the greatest inspiration I had are always the people I photograph, my duty is simply to them and telling their stories. I feel like each photograph is a gift to me, it is somebody who has trusted me to tell me their story but if they trust me with their story I need to make sure that people hear it so I guess that my inspiration for this all exhibition is as I said the mother who has said to me that if a a photographer shot something like this the world has to see it.
I read that you rarely find yourself in such dramatic situation such as this in Iraq. What was the hardest thing you had to deal with, how did you approach people in the Emergency Hospital?
I think the secret to my work is about time, I never rush to take a photograph, and sometimes I don’t even take a photograph if I don’t think is right so for me.During this project a lot of the days were just spent with me being there and chatting to the people who have been injured, hearing stories, sharing stories.
You know there was one child who lost both this legs and he wasn’t eating and so the main objective with him was that every day I would just sit and we would share some food together so at least he ate. My first duty always is to be human and to be a friend to people and then photography is something that becomes on top of that. I approach my photography in a story like this is the same way I would approach any friendship any relationship with anybody and really the photography is something that comes extra to that.
Choose your three words for tomorrow
The three words I would say is what I try to inspire through my work: conversation, collaboration and community.
The exhibition is titled IRAQ: UNA FERITA OPERTA – Giles Duley for EMERGENCY
Open to the public from 28 October to 6 November and 14 to 23 November
Monday – Sunday / 10.00 – 19.00
CASA EMERGENCY Via Santa Croce 19, Milan