Frauke Eigen
Encyclopedia
Frauke Eigen is a German photographer, photojournalist and artist.
's 2011-2012 Women War Artists exhibition for her 2000 photographic exhibition Fundstücke Kosovo (Kosovo Finds) about war crimes in Kosovo. Eigen's work contains images of the clothing and belongings of the victims of ethnic cleansing
which she photographed during the exhumation of mass graves.
The project was undertaken while Eigen was working as a photo-journalist for a government relief
organisation. She heard that mass graves were being exhumed at a nearby location, so went to see them. She saw the bodies of the people who had been killed, and later on, their clothing and other belongings, which had been removed and washed. Eigen found the belongings more emotionally moving than the bodies, and decided to photograph them instead.
Kathleen Palmer, Head of Art at the Imperial War Museum, commented that "this focus upon their personal possessions brings to life the people who had been killed. Since the images themselves are not horrific and graphic, they allow the viewer to relate to the horror in a different way.... They allow us to engage with the horror more immediately."
Eigen's photographs were later used as evidence by the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague
.
Kosovo war photographs
Eigen is featured in the Imperial War Museum LondonImperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
's 2011-2012 Women War Artists exhibition for her 2000 photographic exhibition Fundstücke Kosovo (Kosovo Finds) about war crimes in Kosovo. Eigen's work contains images of the clothing and belongings of the victims of ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
which she photographed during the exhumation of mass graves.
The project was undertaken while Eigen was working as a photo-journalist for a government relief
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
organisation. She heard that mass graves were being exhumed at a nearby location, so went to see them. She saw the bodies of the people who had been killed, and later on, their clothing and other belongings, which had been removed and washed. Eigen found the belongings more emotionally moving than the bodies, and decided to photograph them instead.
Kathleen Palmer, Head of Art at the Imperial War Museum, commented that "this focus upon their personal possessions brings to life the people who had been killed. Since the images themselves are not horrific and graphic, they allow the viewer to relate to the horror in a different way.... They allow us to engage with the horror more immediately."
Eigen's photographs were later used as evidence by the War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.