"The Darfuris accepted me and opened their houses to me. I became friends
with many of them, but Omar was the most receptive to being photographed. His
home, his hands and his eyes tell me everything that I want to convey about
their life and struggle," says Damian.
Omar came to the United States more than four years ago, leaving behind his
entire extended family in order to escape the genocide. Black Africans are
being killed strictly because of their race. The genocide continues in Darfur,
and photographer Damian Wampler has worked to spread the news about the
senseless killing so that perhaps people will take notice, and governments
will take action.
"The best documentary photographers give voice to the voiceless. As the
tragedy in Darfur drags on, it becomes less popular and seemingly less
urgent," Damian says, hoping to bring
Darfur back into the spotlight with stunning, provocative images, now that
there is a new administration in the White House.
Damian's approach to documentary photography uses the language of fine art
instead of photojournalism. Omar has been thrust into a very alien world, far
from his family and friends. In Darfur he earned a university degree in
Arabic. Now he drives a taxi. Before coming to America, he didn't have a
driver's license and had never seen snow. Each image stands on its own and
tells his story through the mood, tone and color of the picture.
The process was collaborative, and a friendship between the photographer and
the subject developed. Damian took pictures of the Darfur refugee community in
Brooklyn over the course of four months in the winter and spring of 2009. The
images are intimate, taking the viewer into Omar's house, his job, and the
often stark and dreary reality of his life.
"Omar introduced a new world to me, and it shows in the photographs," says
Damian.
Prior to being acquired by the Brooklyn Museum, five prints from Darfur in
Brooklyn were included in the group show Surface Tension at the School of
Visual Arts Gallery in October 2009.
"What impressed me the most about this group of photographers is how
fearless each one of them is in capturing their subjects," Surface Tension
curator Dan Halm says, "from technical know-how to emotional impact, they
all move beyond what one comes to expect within the realm of digital
photography."
The Brooklyn Museum acquired two prints in June 2009, and Damian donated two
other prints to the New York Historical Society.
"The prints are a part of New York's history, and I want the images to
stay there. America has a legacy of sheltering outcasts and refugees that
continues to this day. Omar and his children will have a different life in
America, and I'm grateful to be one of the people that they embraced
here."
Related Links:
Photographer Damian Wampler is
proud to announce that two prints from the series Darfur in Brooklyn have been
acquired by the Brooklyn Museum. One of the prints, Untitled 1 (Kitchen), will
be on display in the American Identities galleries on the 5th floor from
August-December 2010.
Darfur in Brooklyn is a documentary photography project that shadows a day in
the life of a Sudanese taxi driver named Omar.
Damian met Omar at a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington,
DC. He soon learned that Omar lived in the neighborhood adjacent to his in
Brooklyn. Damian began shooting portraits of many of the 300 Darfuri refugees
that live in Kensington, a Brooklyn neighborhood just south of Prospect Park,
but soon realized that Omar's face reflected the struggle of the Darfuris as
a whole. Damian Wampler promotes his work with a Portfolio at absolutearts.com.
