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ARTIST STATEMENT for the Manipulated Realities Group Show

War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength

George Orwell’s famous words in his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four provide the framework for me to consider the state of today’s world. As predicted in the novel, we accept routine censorship by “doctored” information as a way of life. What better way for me to comment on this phenomenon than to protest the Iraqi war with “doctored” images of my own?

The digital images displayed here have been created since the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and the consequent American invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003. Through image manipulation, I question the meaning of patriotism as well as the wisdom of settling disputes by sanctioning an ongoing massacre of people.

This collection of images has become an iconic protest of war, as well as a grave commemoration of all those who have suffered, including the U.S. military fatalities and their families who grieve, the thousands of wounded soldiers, the estimated 600,000-1,000,000 Iraqi dead, and the estimated 4.5 million Iraqis driven from their homes. I ask you to pause for a moment to remember those who have sacrificed their lives while engaged in this controversial, unpopular American war.

Jan Kather
June, 2008