If you haven’t seen the UIMA’s current exhibition, Eye Witness: Daniel Heyman’s Portraits of Iraqi Torture Victims, located in the Old Capitol, make sure to stop by before the show ends on Jan. 18.
The exhibit presents watercolors and prints made during the artist’s time in Amman, Jordan and Istanbul, Turkey, where he created portraits of former Iraqi detainees who were victims of torture in Abu Ghraib.
After seeing the photographs from Abu Ghraib that surfaced to the American public in 2004, Heyman became determined to use his art to restore the human identities of the released prisoners. In swirling lines of text around the Iraqis’ faces, Heyman transcribed verbatim the accounts he heard while listening to the former detainees' testimonies with U.S. lawyer Susan Burke. The end result is artwork that has the power to communicate these people’s stories through their own voices and return the dignity that was taken from them through physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
Read more about the exhibit in the press articles that were published after the exhibit’s opening in November:
The Gazette, “Daniel Heyman’s ‘Eyewitness’ exhibit at UI publicizes torture victims’ stories”
The Des Moines Register, “Abu Ghraib portraits draw on interviews”
The Daily Iowan, “Heyman’s artwork face to face with the heart of darkness”
The Iowa City Press Citizen, “Not all art is just pretty to look at”
Corridor Buzz, Review: “Setting Enhances Searing Portrayal of Torture Victims”
Little Village, "Freedom Through the Press"
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