"Carried Objects” Exhibition Offers Personal Perspective Of Iraqi And Syrian Refugees
AANM-Arab American National Museum: press release
85+ images from Dearborn and across the U.S. illustrate common threads binding humanity
First-ever AANM exhibition to occupy both rotating galleries
Since 2003, more than four million Iraqis have left their homes and relocated in hopes of creating a better future for themselves and their families in a setting free of war and uncertainty. Many Iraqis sought refuge in Syria only to find another dangerous situation. Approximately 140,000 of these refugees have immigrated to the U.S., the majority with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and a small memento to remind them of home.
To document their life-changing journey and shed light on the trials and tribulations refugees experience in their search for stability, renowned freelance photographer and author Jim Lommasson has created a project documenting what it means to leave everything behind.
The Arab American National Museum (AANM) presents the exhibition What We Carried: Fragments from the Cradle of Civilization from June 4 through Oct. 23, 2016, in both the Museum’s Main Floor and Lower Level Galleries, a first-time occurrence at the Museum. The project represents the experiences of Iraqi and Syrian refugees while featuring items accompanying these individuals during their journey to America. The exhibition is free with Museum admission.
Lommasson invited Iraqi and Syrian refugees to share a personal item significant to their travels to America, such as a family snapshot, heirloom dish or childhood toy. Lommasson photographed each artifact and then returned a 13″ x 19″ archival print to the participant so the item could be contextualized by the owner. Exhibition visitors will receive firsthand insight into the consideration of what objects, images and memories might be chosen if one was forced to leave his home forever.
The carried objects and the intense personal stories behind them combine in more than 85 images that illustrate the common threads that bind all of humanity: the love shared for family, friends and the places people call home. All of the pieces in this exhibition will be presented in both English and Arabic.
“The object photos and stories can help to break down stereotypes and share our common humanity and help to build bridges,” says Lommasson. “Through my project I realized that the objects and stories helped create an intimate empathy for those of us who saw them. The more powerful understanding is the realization of what was left behind. What was left behind was everything else; homes, friends, family, school, careers, culture and history.”
The exhibition touches upon the resiliency of refugees from the Arab World and what it means to be displaced and to build a new life in a new country. By learning the personal stories of those originally from Iraq and Syria and the adversity experienced through displacement, a greater understanding and appreciation is gained for the perspective of all immigrants and the plight of all refugees. What We Carried: Fragments from the Cradle of Civilianization is an ongoing project and since 2010, Lommasson has worked directly with Iraqi refugee communities throughout the U.S. including Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, Los Angeles, Dearborn, Mich., and Chicago. Lommasson was awarded a Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant for the What We Carried: Fragments from the Cradle of Civilization exhibition.
Since 2011,What We Carried: Fragments from the Cradle of Civilization has been featured at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, Skokie, Ill.; City of Chicago Pedway, Chicago; The New Century Art Guild, Kimballton, Iowa; The Arsenal Center for the Arts, Boston; Washington County Museum, Portland, Ore., and The Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, Ore.
Jim Lommasson is a freelance photographer and author living in Portland, Ore. For his first book, Shadow Boxers: Sweat, Sacrifice and The Will To Survive In American Boxing Gyms (Stone Creek Publications, 2005) Lommasson received the Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize from The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Lommasson’ s new book Exit Wounds: Soldiers’ Stories – Life After Iraq and Afghanistan (Schiffer, 2015) and traveling exhibition is about American veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and their lives after their return from war. The book includes Lommasson’s photographs, interviews and photographs by the participants.
To read more about Lommasson visit his website: http://www.lommassonpictures.com/
What We Carried: Fragments from the Cradle of Civilization was funded in part by The Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), the Oregon Arts Commission and the Arab American National Museum.
What We Carried: Fragments From The Cradle of Civilization
Saturday, June 4 through Sunday, October 23, 2016
Main Floor Gallery & Lower Level Gallery
Arab American National Museum
13624 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, MI, 48126
Free with Museum admission.
For more exhibition information visit: http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/wwc