Past in the present

A six-piece installation work reflecting on the 1988 Halabja poison gas attack, a genocidal massacre against the Kurdish people that occurred during the final stages of the Iran-Iraq war.

'Past in the present' is a photographic installation, each image containing a story that forms an overall narrative. The series records the aftermath of the 1988 chemical gas attack on the population of Halabja- Kurdistan, the artist's hometown. The event was orchestrated by the Iraqi regime as a targeted assault on the Kurdish civilian population and precipitated the first Gulf War.

Each image in the series is a re-photographed segment of a documentary photograph, individually treated with smoke to reference the dense haze and the lack of clarity that has come to symbolise the regime, as well as the turbulent history that has characterised Kurdistan in recent times. The application of smoke creates darkness both physically and metaphorically, while the incorporation of sandpaper references acts of erasure and abolishment. The etched horizontal lines also echo the creases and scratches of age that are characteristic of old photographs: highly significant and rare items in a place that has witnessed the destruction of many memories. This work conveys a fresh approach to historical analysis. The images are both public documents (since the photographs were taken by journalists originally) and intensely intimate portraits. Grouped together, they make critical connections between the narratives of the present, and the historical value inherent in chronicling the past. They also provide an important insight into the wartime experience of the Iraqi diaspora in Australia.

• Past in the present