Cork 2005: Simon Norfolk Hotel Africa

Cork 2005, in association with Sirius Arts Centre, the Irish Defence Forces, Collins Barracks and O'Callaghan Properties released details today of a forthcoming photographic exhibition focusing on the Irish Army's time in Liberia earlier this year.

Welcome to the Hotel Africa is an exhibition that interprets the day-to-day lives of Irish troops serving in Liberia in 2005. The environment they live in, the objects they bring from home, and the landscape around them, are skillfully transformed into large-scale photographs. Carefully observed and prepared, these stunning images by Simon Norfolk will be exhibited in 21 Lavitt's Quay from 12 August to 2 September.

Award winning photographer, Simon Norfolk, has traveled extensively in order to explore places that have borne witness to human conflict and his work deals specifically with the scars and legacy of conflict. Having been brought to Cork 2005's attention by Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Norfolk was commissioned by Cork 2005 and The Defence Forces, Collins Barracks to travel with Irish UN contingents in Liberia in 2004 as their artist in residence. It was during this time that the images for this exhibition were created.

Comdt. Dan Harvey, Irish Defence Forces, Collins Barracks, said the Irish Defence Forces, Collins Barracks are delighted that their collaboration with Cork 2005 is being marked with the artistry of the photographer Simon Norfolk. Owen O'Callaghan, Managing Director, O'Callaghan Properties, who are providing the venue for the exhibition, added we are very pleased to make space available for the Simon Norfolk exhibition at our premises in Lavitt's Quay. The Salgado Exhibition drew very big attendances in recent weeks and I have no doubt that the work of Simon Norfolk will be of great interest, all the more so because of the connection in this case with our own Defence Forces.

Peggy Sue Amison, Director of Sirius Arts Centre said Simon Norfolk's unique vision offers viewers a window helping us understand how conflict affects cultures on a deeper level. The images in 'Welcome to the Hotel Africa' inform us through personal landscapes of the everyday, these backdrops give us a vision of peacekeeping in the 21st Century.

Programme Director for Cork 2005, Mary McCarthy, added an outstanding new body of work has been created by Simon Norfolk and it will be presented as a highlight exhibition during Cork's celebrations as European Capital of Culture. These exceptionally powerful images will engage our citizens and visitors presenting them with the experience of the physical aftermath of war while simultaneously showing images of hope and beauty, images of poeticism which transcend the actual physical environment. This is an un-missable opportunity to see the work of this exceptional photographer Simon Norfolk.

In tandem with Welcome to the Hotel Africa, a second exhibition of new work by Simon Norfolk, entitled Refuge, will be exhibited at the Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh from 12 August to 4 September. Sirius Arts Centre, project initiators for Welcome to the Hotel Africa, will also host a talk by Simon Norfolk on Friday 12 August at 7pm followed by a reception for the Refuge exhibition.

A recipient of many international photographic awards, Simon has been further honoured this week at Arles Rencontres, without doubt the most important annual photography festival now in its 36th year. On July 7 he was awarded the 2005 Arles Outreach award worth 10,000 euros, aimed at rewarding a photographer, or an artist using photography, whose work helps to promote dialogue with the wider community. Other photographers nominated for this award included Gillian Wearing from the UK, Stefan Ruis from the US, Yuji Ono from Japan, and Bléda & Rosa from Spain.

ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1963, Norfolk was educated in England and spent his early career as a photojournalist. From 1990 to 1994 he was the staff photographer for Living Marxism, for whom he covered issues such as the British National Party, Northern Ireland, Eastern Europe at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Gulf War.

He abandoned photojournalism in 1994 in favour of landscape photography. His first book, For Most Of It I Have No Words, about the landscapes of the places that have seen genocide, was published in 1998 to wide acclaim, including praise from Louise Arbour, Chief Prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

He came to prominence for his next body of work, Afghanistan: Chronotopia for which he received a Silver Award from the Association of Photographers in 2002 and was short listed for the Citibank Prize in 2003. He has since won the Infinity Award from the International Center for Photography, New York in 2004 for his series on refugee camps, and The Association of Photographers' Bursary in 2005. His latest award is the 2005 Arles Outreach Award at Arles Rencontres, the world's most important annual photography festival.

His editorial work has appeared in many publications, including The Guardian, The Observer, La Repubblica, The Sunday Times Magazine and The New York Times Magazine. Norfolk's work is held in the collections of the Hayward Gallery London, the British Council, the Houston Museum of Fine Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and in many private collections.

Simon's photographs are taken with a large format camera (a wooden 5x4 Wista 'plate' camera) and often use long exposures. They are beautifully constructed large-scale photographs, far from the typical press photographs of modern war.

Pressetext

Simon Norfolk: Welcome to the Hotel Africa
AN EXHIBITION OF IMAGES OF THE IRISH ARMY IN LIBERIA ANNOUNCED TODAY AT COLLINS BARRACKS, CORK
Kooperation: Sirius Arts Centre
Ort: 21 Lavitt's Quay