-
From left: 002 We Are Here, 002 Schoolboys and Passport RA © Andy Barnham; Quote © Sara de Jong
-
002 We Are Here, 002 Schoolboys and Passport RA © Andy Barnham; Quote © Sara de Jong
Exhibition
We Are Here, Because You Were There
17 Feb 2024 – 18 May 2024
Regular hours
- Saturday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Sunday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Tuesday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Wednesday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Thursday
- 10:00 – 17:00
- Friday
- 10:00 – 17:00
Free admission
Address
- Centenary Square
- Bradford
- BD1 1SD
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- For further information on local bus routes and times please visit the Metro website (www.wymetro.com).
- By rail and bus Bradford Interchange is five minutes walk away from Impressions Gallery, with rail, bus and taxi services all under one roof. Bradford Interchange is only a 20-minute direct journey from Leeds station with links to the rest of the country.
The exhibition centres Afghan interpreters’ own stories and invites viewers to engage with the individuals, their families and the human stories behind the headlines.
About
Each portrait in the exhibition is a composite of up to a dozen frames overlaid to present a final portrait, to represent the subject’s changing states of mind. Using strategies of blurring and pixelating, photographer and British Army veteran Andy Barnham has further edited portraits of Afghan interpreters to help anonymise them, as they are still considered at risk and have family in Afghanistan under threat.
The quotes are extracts from in-depth interviews with the Afghan interpreters conducted by Sara de Jong. The testimonies cover the interpreters’ motivations for working with the British Armed Forces, their experiences on the frontline of war, and the threats they faced in Afghanistan. The statements also address their evacuation, their early experiences in the UK, and hopes for the future for themselves and their families.
While the images and quotes represent the individual stories of Afghan interpreters who took part in the portrait and interview sessions, they speak to the collective experiences of the larger community of Afghan former interpreters in the UK.
The exhibition also premieres five portraits of key veteran activists who continue to be political advocates for the protection and rights of their former colleagues.
