Occupying the IWM’s dedicated space for contemporary art, this is an International Committee of the Red Cross-sponsored exhibition of Nick Danziger’s photographs of women in conflict zones. The focus is on women the London-born photographer met years ago and to whom he has returned in order to explore the long-lasting impact of war on people’s lives.
From Kosovo to Lebanon to Colombia, Danziger’s dedication to shedding light on the stories of these women is clear. But the show fails to capture the spirit or strife of the women depicted, and the wall texts do more to obscure or over-simplify than illuminate their stories. Oddly, a feeling of cold remove permeates the show. Yet there are some outstanding images, including portraits of Mariatu, now living in Toronto, whose hands were forcibly amputated with a machete during the 1991-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone, and a 2001 portrait of a young Afghan girl, Mah Bibi, whose hard glare you won’t soon forget.