DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO:
                    FORGOTTEN WAR
      VII photo agency’s first ever group exhibition in Australia

“starkly depicts some of our fellow human beings dying and surviving amidst hunger, systematic rape, protracted conflict and deadly diseases. At the same time it offers a glimpse of hope through depictions of people’s resilience and the hand of humanitarian assistance.  We are compelled to bear witness on these people’s fate.”    Downtown Express, New York

As part of a national tour, the photographic exhibition Democratic Republic of Congo: Forgotten War will be shown in Hobart at the IXL Atrium, Henry Jones Art Hotel (25 Hunter Street), Thursday 7 December to Monday 18 December 2007, every day from 8am - 6pm.

Never before has Australia seen a group show, and such extensive work, by the internationally acclaimed VII photo agency. VII, founded by the same number of photo-journalists in New York in September 2001, has been responsible for creating and relaying to the world many of the images that define the turbulent beginning of the 21(superscript: st) century.

In 2005, five photographers: Ron Haviv, Gary Knight, James Nachtwey, Antonin Kratochvil and Joachim Ladefoged travelled with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) to document the crises of Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire.

MSF Australia Executive Director Philippe Couturier says of the 49 images:
“This remarkable photo exhibition sheds light on the suffering of the population of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The Congolese have experienced war, displacement, disease, malnutrition, epidemics, sexual violence?MSF Australia’s donors fund to a significant level programmes in DRC. Yet the tragedy of the Congo has remained virtually invisible to the world.”

VII’s Ron Haviv says, “The situation in the DRC has been and continues today to be intolerable. Although we are very late in our small attempt to tell the world what is happening — every moment counts ? and we need to do something.”

The Australian tour is sponsored by NAA (Nursing Agency of Australia), with Brisbane Powerhouse as Artistic Partner and the Air Road Foundation as Transport Partner.

  For further information go to http://www.msf.org.au or for images and interview opportunities please contact MSF Australia:

Photo Exhibition Coordinator, Fleur Lanham Press Officer, James Nichols

  For more information about VII, go to http://www.viiphoto.com

This is brought to you by Medecins Sans Frontieres

  Médecins Sans Frontières Australia presents