- About postgraduate study
- Part-time study
- Courses
- Order a Prospectus
- Faculties & Departments
- UK students
- EU students
- International Students
- How to apply for your course
- Handy Hints
- Open Events
- Student Recruitment
- Money Matters
- About Us
22 Mar 2011 16:19:03
A thought-provoking exhibition by artist and photographer Ben Hodson is running at the UCMK Gallery in Milton Keynes during March.
The 25 year old is a graduate of the University of Bedfordshire and a current MA Art & Design student who is also lecturing on Visual Communication in the Division of Art and Design at the Luton campus.
Luton-based Ben’s emotive Iraq: Amna Suraka is a collection of work he created while on a recent trip to the country and it is exhibiting until Wednesday, 30 March.
Talking about the project, he said: “I went looking to explore the story of the Iraq still unseen, to engage with the lives, questions and challenges the media has been ignoring.
“Though I wanted to tell their story, I soon realised that I could not do this as well as the Iraqi people themselves. I have subsequently curated an exhibition of art work by Iraqi people which is currently touring here in Europe. Iraq – The Forgotten Story gives the Iraqi people an opportunity to have their own voice.
“In my own work I have tried to show my perspective of the place and I want to convey some of the highs and lows of the experiences in Iraq.”
The show depicts three main series of work:
For the show in the UCMK Gallery, the artist has also created a large (6m x 3m) photo montage for the upstairs space made from the 3,000 photos.
Hodson said: “The work is not intended to be political, however, anything engaging with the subject of Iraq cannot avoid the political and historical context. In the midst of our political posturing about the rights and wrongs of the war, we seem to miss the people and their stories.
“The work does not claim to make any bold statements, rather the artist would prefer you to come view the work and make your own conclusions.”
Further information at www.benhodson.co.uk
