I apologize for the lack of updates. I have been fighting a cold and terrible cough, along with keeping up with my studies. I hope to write a bit about Amsterdam soon.
Rainbow looking over downtown Oslo, Norway.
I am now in Norway. After a day of visiting the Viking Ship Museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum, and the Fram Museum, I decided to stop by the Nobel Peace Center on the way back to my hostel to check on their opening hours. As luck would have it, they were opening a brand new exhibition by a famous German photographer, Herlinde Koelbl. Admission was free and opening to the public as I got there.
Her exhibition is called “TARGETS.” It was a 6-year, twenty-seven country photographic study of who and what the enemy looks like throughout the world on all populated continents. A photograph she took nearly thirty years ago in Germany inspired her to pursue this exhibition. It was of a silhouette target of a human being filled with bullet holes, an image she was never able to forget. The pre-opening hour consisted of her being interviewed by Norwegian Journalist Kadafi Zaman, known for his coverage of international affairs.
She spoke about how asymmetric warfare has changed the face of the enemy and how warfare takes place in cities, towns, and villages rather than on a more formal battlefield. She also commented that the more training a solider receives, the more lifelike the targets become. Some militaries even use real human targets outfitted with laser technology to determine miss, wound or kill. When asked what her biggest surprise was, she stated how one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter and commented on how some past Nobel Peace Prize laureates fit that description such as Nelson Mandela.
She further described how access was a long and difficult process. It took her over four years to get access in the United Arab Emirates. Some of the countries she visited would no longer be possible today, like the Ukraine. Her purpose in this photographic exploration of targets was to add some transparency to militaries. She feels militaries need to be more transparent in their work and this is her contribution to that belief. This project made her realize how fragile peace is throughout the world and it is a demonstration of how much time, effort, and money is spent preparing to fight the next target, known and unknown. Her final remark during her introduction speech spoke to how armies can bring both destruction and freedom, however it is up to the politicians and diplomats throughout the world to bring an end to destruction.
The German Ambassador to Norway also addressed the audience. He remarked on how armies around the world are still training to take lives away, rather than focus primarily on peace keeping. The final speaker was a former Norwegian Minister of Defense who shared this quote, “The mostly costly peace is still cheaper than the cheapest war…”
My live tweeting of the event was also picked up the Nobel Peace Center who re-tweeted much of my commentary, a nice surprise.
This exhibition runs until April 2016 with free entry to it. More info can be found here.
Nobel Peace Center Oslo, Norway
Journalist Kadafi Zaman interviewing Herdline Koelbl
German Ambassador to Norway–Dr. Axel Berg
Former Norwegian Minister of Defense–Bjørn Tore Godal
My favorite photographs in the exhibition. This is what happens when one no longer gives any consideration to who the target is.
Myself and Journalist Kadafi Zaman who was kind enough to pose for a photo.
And of course myself with Herlinde Koelbl. Got her book signed. No idea how I will get it home.
// Oliver – Day 11 – Norway