Elizabeth D. Herman – A Woman’s War


Dates: EXTENDED – November 1 – December 30, 2012
Location: United Photo Industries HQ | 111 Front Street, Suite 200

“A Woman’s War” explores the post-conflict experiences and struggles of women actively involved in recent conflicts around the world, and who have, since ceasefire, not only had to struggle for equal rights and recognition, but also for their dignity, honor, and idea of womanhood.
A woman’s war is distinct. She not only has to be a fighter, but also is expected to maintain and eventually return to her traditional role as a mother, wife, and anchor of the family at the end of the conflict. Women have played key roles in recent conflicts, serving as combatants, nurses, peace builders, demonstrators, social workers, and more. They also suffered its consequences: trauma, physical debilitation, displacement, widowhood, and mass rape. At the war’s end, they were faced with a dual burden of confronting the conflict’s scars, while also attempting to reconstruct their own and their families’ lives.

Perhaps most egregiously, their contributions remain absent from history books, with official narratives instead largely written by and focused on the stories of men. Yet, even though official narratives fail to recognize their histories, these women cope with them daily, learning ways to bring certain elements of the conflict forward with them, and leave others behind. In learning how conflict has shaped them as mothers, activists, leaders, and more, “A Woman’s War” examines how war affects not only those who experienced it firsthand, but also those they nurture and lead  the next generation  and how, in that way, their struggles live on.

Elizabeth Herman is a Boston-born freelance photographer and researcher currently based in New York. She spent last year in Bangladesh as a Fulbright Fellow, researching how politics influence the writing of national histories in textbooks. While there, she continued work on a long-term documentary project, “A Woman’s War,” exploring the experiences of female combatants and the impact that war has had on them during and after conflict.

In addition to Bangladesh, she has completed chapters in Vietnam, on female members of the North Vietnamese Army in Vietnam, in Egypt, on female revolutionaries involved in the recent political and social uprisings there, in Bosnia, on women involved in all sides of the war that broke out in 1992 following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, and in Northern Ireland, with women on all sides of the decades-long conflict there.

Elizabeth graduated from Tufts University in 2010 with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics. She serves on the Student Advisory Board of Tufts’ new Program for Narrative and Documentary Practice, founded and directed by Gary Knight. Her research and photography have been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, GlobalPost, NPR, Jezebel, and The Daily Beast, among others.

Elizabeth been was recently awarded the 2012 Tim Hetherington Award, named a finalist of 2011 The Aftermath Project, a finalist of the 2011 Livingston Awards, and was named one of the Jezebel 25 by Gawker Media. She runs a blog on the importance of narrative and language, The Stories We Tell.

PUBLICATIONS
The New York Times
The Guardian
GlobalPost
Jezebel
Newsweek/The Daily Beast
The Independent (Bangladesh)
Warscapes
War Is Only Half The Story: Vol. V, The Aftermath Project (forthcoming)
Project on Justice in Times of Transition, 20 Years, Project on Justice in Times of Transition (forthcoming)

AWARDS
2012: Tim Hetherington Award
2012: The Jezebel 25, Honoree
2012: OjodePez Award for Human Values, Finalist
2012: Prix Pictet, Nominee
2011: The Livingston Awards, Finalist
2011: The Aftermath Project, Finalist
2011: GlobalPost/Open Hands Initiative Fellow
2011: FotoVisura Spotlight Grant, Top Finalist
2011: Lucie Foundation Scholarship, Shortlist
2011: Photoshelter Top Photography Project of 2011
2011: Px3 Paris Photo, Official Selection
2010: Fulbright Fellow, Bangladesh
2010: Critical Language Enhancement Award, Bengali

EXHIBITIONS
2012: “A Woman’s War: Bangladesh,” Women in Photography (presented by FotoVisura), Photoville, Brooklyn, NY
2012: “A Woman’s War: Bangladesh,” The Fence @ Photoville, Photoville, Brooklyn, NY
2012: “A Woman’s War: Bangladesh,” FotoVisura Grant Exhibition, United Photo Industries, Brooklyn, NY
2012: “A Woman’s War: Bangladesh,” Slideluck Potshow DC, Washington DC
2011: “A Woman’s War: Bangladesh,” SOLO SHOW, Shadhona Studio, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2011: “The Idea Of Home: Houston,” Tufts University Slater Gallery, Medford, MA
2011: “Women Warriors: Hue, Vietnam,” Tufts University Slater Gallery, Medford, MA
2010: “The Idea Of Home: Shifts in Houston’s Third Ward,” El Dorado Gallery, Houston, TX
2010: “The Last Village: Ajmer, India,” Tufts University Slater Gallery, Medford, MA
2009: “Education for All? Youth Education and Labor in Siem Reap, Cambodia,” Tufts University Slater Gallery, Medford, MA