A NEW exhibition focussing on photography during the Troubles in Northern Ireland has opened at the Ulster Museum. Conflicting Images: Photography during the Northern Irish Troubles is a major exhibition based on National Museums NI's Historic Photographic Collections, looking at the role photography played during the conflict, and how photography itself changed and developed during that time.
It features more than140 images including important original works by local photographers Martin Nangle, Bill Kerr, and Frankie Quinn, as well as prints by French Magnum photographer Gilles Peress, seen as a major international figure in conflict photography.
The photos document significant moments and milestones during The Troubles as well as being evocative reminders of what everyday life in Northern Ireland looked like for many people.
"Photography brought Northern Ireland to the eyes of the world during The Troubles in a very particular way," says show curator Vivienne Pollock. "When violence erupted in 1969, international photojournalism, its style honed in the Vietnam War, flew in to witness and report. This overview was quickly challenged by a wave of young, local press and freelance photographers, driven to bring local perspective, experience and context into the wider picture."
Ms Pollock added: "This exhibition is not intended to be a chronological catalogue of major events during The Troubles. It is rather a reflection of the many ways in which this painful period of Northern Ireland's history was viewed by professional and amateur photographers, and how these visions combine to offer new and often profound insights into how the realities of life during these years were captured on camera."
:: Until November 2017; admission is free. For further information on the exhibition and public programme associated with it, visit www.nmni.com/um
