European Battlefields of the 20th Century

The aim of this artistic project was to portray all significant European locations where decisive battles had taken place during the twentieth century. The most dramatic fields of death, such as Gallipoli (Turkey), Verdun (France), Guernica (Basque Country, Spain), Stalingrad (now Volgograd, Russia) and Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina), now seem peaceful and harmonious places. In contrast to the harrowing and alienating content of traditional war photography, Peter Hebeisen`s images allow the viewer`s gaze to rest in well-defined landscapes. From the first Balkan War (1912-1913) to the last conflicts in former Yugoslavia (1990`s) the project assembles present-day views of former theatres of war and introduces a new angle to the idea of „Vergangenheitsbewältigung“, the struggle to come to terms with the past. The haunting landscapes reveal how healing is linked with forgetting and ignorance. As those directly involved in conflicts and affected by them pass away, also memory will pass. A mirror is held up to the viewer that reflects the presence or absence respectively of a knowledge about the history of conflict. Series of 50 Images Size I: 112cm x 112 cm / 44 x 44 inches Size II: 158cm x 158cm / 62 x 62 inches Archival Hahnemuehle Pigment Print