IN IRAQ
Laurent Van der Stockt

“The photos were taken in Iraq between 2003 and 2005, from the beginning of the American military intervention—when Iraq was accused by the administration of George W. Bush of possessing weapons of mass destruction—to the end of the operation “Phantom Fury” which crushed the Sunnite bastion of Fallujah.

A few sets of pictures taken during this time of chaos.
Different circumstances and situations. In or out of confusion. Arranged face to face and side by side so that they can compare one with the other, and in order to disrupt the perception we have of them and of history.”

Laurent Van der Stockt: A birth in 1964 in Belgium. After an illegal entrance to Romania, he shows the living conditions under the Ceausescu regime, comes back there after its fall, shortly before joining the Agency Gamma in 1990. A photographer of all conflicts: from Ex-Yugoslavia to Afghanistan, from Tchetchenia to Gulf War, including Africa and Middle East, he covers the events for the international press. He stays in prison and is seriously wounded several times. The first time in 1991, in Vukovar, where a piece of shrapnel pierces his left arm; in 2001 in Ramallah, a knee hit by an Israeli sniper; then in 2005 in Falloujah in the arm, again. In Sierra Leone, he loses the friend Miguel Gil Moreno, a companion from the experience in Tchetchenia, who was still repeating “You are crazy... I follow you only because I know you have two kids...” A photographer whose humanity confuses with itself, he doesn't limit himself to be a “war photographer”; he is a witness of the effects of the cyclone “Katrina”, portrays the young people of the suburbs of Bastia for the National Fund of Contemporary Art, gives an account of the political instability in Haïti after the departure of Aristide. His work has been rewarded with the Award for Excellence—a journalism Prize of University if Columbia—in 1991, with the Paris Match Award in 1996, with the Bayeux Prize for war correspondents in 1995 and with the Prize of the Scoop Festival of Angers four times between 1991 and 1996. His photos have been in particular exhibited during the festival “Visa pour l'Image” in Perpignan (1994 - Les enfants de Kaboul / Children of Kabul) and in the Maison Européenne de la Photographie / European House of Photography (2009 – Our Fellow Man).

Anne-Lise Large

Laurent Van der Stockt: Fotograf agencije Gamma od 1991. i fotograf američke revije Newsweek od 2001, Laurent prati sve sukobe: od bivše Jugoslavije do Afganistana, od Čečenije do Zaljevskog rata, prolazeći kroz Afriku i Bliski Istok, njegove fotografije prate glavne vijesti međunarodnih novin a(The New York Times, Newsweek, Le Monde, Liberation, Stern, Geo, Paris Match, EL Pais, Le Figaro, The Independent, L'Express, itd). Nekoliko puta je bio zarobljen i ozbiljno ranjen. Prvi put u Vukovaru, 1991, kada mu geler prolazi kroz lijevu ruku, 2001. u Ramallahu; izraelski snajper mu pogađa koljeno, zatim je u Faluđi ponovo je ranjen u ruku. U Sierri Leone, gubi prijatelja Miguela Gila Morena, druga iz Čečenije, koji mu je znao ponavljati: You are crazy... I follow you only because I know you have two kids. Svjedok je posljedica uragana Katrina, pravi portrete mladih iz predgrađa Bastije za Nacionalni fond savremene umjetnosti, izvještava o političkoj situaciji nakon odlaska Aristida na Haitiju. Laurent će 1991. dobiti nagradu za novinarstvo Univerziteta u Kolumbiji, Award d’Excellence, i nagradu Prix Paris Match 1996. te Prix Bayeux des correspondants de guerre 1995, i četiri puta nagradu Prix du Festival du Scoop d’Anger u periodu između 1991. i 1996. Njegova izložba Our Fellow Man, prikazana prošle godine u Evropskoj Kući Fotografije u Parizu, obuhvatila je dvadeset godina njegovog fotografskog i umjetničkog rada.

Anne-Lise Large

Laurent Van der Stockt: Une naissance en 1964 en Belgique. Après une entrée clandestine en Roumanie, il donne à voir les conditions de vie sous le régime de Ceausescu ; y revient à sa chute, peu de temps avant de rejoindre l’Agence Gamma, en 1990. Photographe de tous les conflits : de l’Ex- Yougoslavie à l’Afghanistan, de la Tchétchénie à la Guerre du Golfe, en passant par l’Afrique et par le Moyen-Orient, il couvre l’actualité des journaux internationaux. Il fait de la prison et est grièvement blessé à plusieurs reprises. La première fois, en 1991, à Vukovar où un éclat d’obus lui transperce le bras gauche, en 2001 à Ramallah ; un genou touché par un sniper israélien, puis, en 2005, à Falloujah, au bras encore. En Sierra Leone, il perd l’ami Miguel Gil Moreno, compagnon de Tchétchénie, celui qui répétait «You are crazy... I follow you only because I know you have two kids...» Photographe d’une humanité en porte-à-faux avec elle-même, il ne s’arrête pourtant jamais au terme de «photographe de guerre» ; il témoigne des conséquences du cyclone «Katrina», portraiture les jeunes des banlieues de Bastia pour le Fond National d’Art Contemporain, rend compte du flou politique suite au départ d’Aristide à Haïti. Son travail sera récompensé par le Award d’Excellence — Prix de Journalisme de l’Université de Columbia en 1991, par le Prix Paris Match en 1996, par le Prix Bayeux des correspondants de guerre en 1995 et par le Prix du Festival du Scoop d’Angers à quatre reprises entre 1991 et 1996. Il exposera notamment lors de Visa pour l’Image à Perpignan (1994 — Les enfants de Kaboul), et à la Maison Européenne de la Photographie (2009 — Our Fellow Man).

Anne-Lise Large

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