Kolga International Photo 2013: Drums of War

Drums of war / Kolga Photo, Tbilisi/Georgia 2013

Drums of War is a series which plays with western visual stereotypes and sensationalism about Afghanistan and its related narratives. The works selected for the International Kolga catalogue point at how cliché ridden our view on war and conflict is: Why are we surprised to see a swimming pool in Afghanistan? What does a heavy metal band in Kabul tell us about the Western intervention? This series reflects the ruling ambiguity of the aid industry in developing countries. Cultural field workers and artists at an international level have come to speak of a conflict chic in the context of Afghanistan, with ‚art‘ reflecting  Western donors‘ aspirations to see success stories rapidly grow. Some of what we see on the ground is intepreted as permanent gain of the Western intervention. Mistakenly. At the same time, Afghan biografies of youth in conflict point to a desire of modernity among urban Afghan males and females, with girls and boys often struggeling to find their own identities.
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