African beauty goes Through Lens

You can expect recent photojournalism focusing on places of conflict to be abruptly gory and viscerally violent with its unflinching portrayal of blood and destruction-but not usually calmingly serene. Ami Vitale's photos break this visual precedent. On display now at Durham's Through This Lens gallery, the exhibit Full of Grace features Vitale's work. Her art depicts everyday life under difficult circumstances, emphasizing the beauty of locales such as Kashmir and Africa, places that are typically presented to Western audiences only in terms of their danger and deterioration.

Consisting of large, vibrantly colored digital photographs, the exhibit is particularly noteworthy in light of the fact that the photographs do not typify the artist's work as a whole. Her overall repertoire actually contains many pieces that depict the harsh and brutal realities of war. Take for example a photograph taken in Kashmir displayed on her Web site, which features the hands and arms of locals reaching into a pool of blood to drag the body of a Kashmiri boy out of the street. The contrast between that photograph, and a work entitled "Shikara on Dal Lake," featured in the exhibit, epitomizes the mood of the gallery's show. The image displays a man in a small boat, floating in an expanse of deep blue water, with the early morning sun illuminating the heavy mist. Paired with the blatant serenity of the photo, the caption adds a note of subtle, underlying peril, reading, "Gunshots and other signs of fighting could be heard echoing through nearby mountains."

Vitale's conscious desire to focus on the calm, daily life of people living in often sensationalized strife-ridden regions greatly influenced the ultimate selection of works to be included in the show.

"Some of the [images] that she had initially sent she later decided really weren't appropriate," said Roylee Duvall, the director of Through This Lens. "There was one picture ... where what appeared to be a partially burned Koran was on the ground ... and [Vitale] said, 'You know, I don't feel good about showing that picture at the gallery because I have such bad memories of all the things that were going on. I don't feel like it would really be appropriate to include with this group of pictures.'"

The works Vitale did choose to show often focus on the basic and universal humanity of her subjects. An image entitled "Kashmir" depicts a woman's face at close range, framed by the ornately carved opening of a cement fence. The piece, though ostensibly taken under journalistic circumstances, comes across as an intentional portrait of the woman and her clearly conveyed distress rather than a testimonial of the surrounding events.

Vitale's obvious empathy with the people she captures in her art can be partially attributed to the great deal of time she spends living in the locales that she portrays. In 2001, Vitale spent six months in a remote African Village in Guinea Bissau, an experience that Duvall credits with her ability to successfully convey a visual connection with her subjects.

"She worked in Africa for several weeks and actually lived in an African village," Duvall said. "To be able to do that, you have to have compassion for the people, and you have to essentially make yourself a part of those surrounding you. Only someone who loves humanity is able to do that."

Vitale's deep affection for the residents is exemplified by the picture that shares the same title as the show. Bearing some of the least resemblance to popular conceptions of a journalistic image, Full of Grace depicts a man embracing his camel's head, his devotion to the animal starkly apparent. The overall sense is one of everyday contentment and attainable happiness.