Photo by Walid Raad

Walid Raad, one of the most important, contemporary photographers from the Middle East, is featured in his first major UK exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings is a 20-year retrospective, during which Raad’s focused primarily on the 1975-1990 civil wars in Lebanon. Of great interest to Raad is the way conflict affects the body and mind, and how it can be successfully captured through a camera. Initially wishing to be a war correspondent, Raad realized he could document the complex story of his country and relay it to an audience just as effectively (if not more so) with art. Raad believes that a single photograph can clearly illustrate “a city that is divided, [with] all sorts of facts: some military; others cultural; and yet others aesthetic.”

A discussion of Raad’s aesthetic in times of war, with his draw on both personal history and conceptual practice, was featured in Aperture Issue 198.

Walid Raad: Miraculous Beginnings
On view: Thursday October 14, 2010 – Sunday January 2, 2011

Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
+44 (0)20 7522 7888