Nogles, Arizona, March 2007 (© Chris Maluszynski/Agence Vu)

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Pont de la Machine in the centre of Geneva, not far from the Mont Blanc bridge, will for the next three months offer visitors the irony of a bridge as a showcase for walls that divide humanity. “Murs”, an extraordinary exhibit of large-scale photos of barriers taken by some of the world’s top photographers, opened Monday 9 November in Geneva. The show continues to 31 January 2010. The collection of images of life on both sides of walls that were erected for political reasons are striking, particularly at night or in rainy weather when their backlighting makes them stand out from the stream of people crossing the bridge.

Pedestrians entering the footbridge from the left bank of the Rhone first see the building of the Berlin wall: the exhibit’s opening was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of its fall. Monday, before the official opening, saw a typical crowd of people crossing the bridge, some on their cell phones with thoughts elsewhere and others with their eyes on the ground, concentrating on getting from point A to point B. All were obliged to confront the artwork because the 12 lightboxes that hold 24 large format images (200cm wide) printed on tarmac are laid out in such a way that people have to zigzag across the bridge.

The images show a changing geography, but the theme of walls that divide is reinforced by each new image, creating a powerful message by the time you reach the right bank.

The exhibit on the Pont de la Machine, Geneva, November 2009 (image, Jean-Michel Landecy)

Murs exhibit, Pont de la Machine, Geneva, November 2009 (photo: Serge Macia)

Reactions Monday ranged from puzzlement to strong emotions as people paused to absorb the photos or read the captions for images from Belfast, Ireland, South Africa at the Zimbabwe border, Cyprus, the DMZ between the Koreas, Israel where it meets Gaza, Arizona and New Mexico, and more. For one person the most striking image is a man crawling naked through barbed wire to reach a better life in South Africa, while for another it is the no-man’s land of the Korean penninsula’s demilitarized zone, where de-mining experts are at work.

“And then there was one man, on his cell phone, who nearly bumped into one of these large lightboxes!” marvels Barbara Nagelsmith, the curator for the project. “You have to wonder what it takes to make some people notice the world around them.”

West Berlin, 1989 (© Stéphen Duroy, Agence Vu)

The idea behind the project is exactly this, to make people notice and think about walls, to remind them that when the Berlin wall fell in 1989 world leaders spoke eloquently about its demise, saying never again. And yet “sadly, the world has continued to see walls block the path of man,” Rémy Pagani, mayor of Geneva says. “In Mexico, they prevent the poor from going near the rich. In North Korea, the regimes holds millions of women and men in economic starvation. Between the West Bank and Israel, the wall is seen as a protective measure, but it encloses the Palestinians in an unacceptable prison. Everywhere in the world, walls divide, partition, blight the lives of the people who live in their shadows and disfigure the lands that people consider their home.”

The layout of the exhibit forces people who are in a busy public space to confront life in territories where conflict is present, “scenographer” Jean-Michel Landecy notes.

The show is the brainchild of Geneva’s Serge Macia, a former humanitarian worker who created the “concerned art” gallery Imaginaid. It was designed by Landecy, specialist in contemporary architecture at the Louis Jeantet Foundation in Geneva, and curated by Barbara Nagelsmith, who for 23 years was Time magazine’s picture editor in Paris and who has worked on several major international photo projects.

The idea was born over two years ago, and quickly received backing from Pagani, who offered Geneva’s support as part of its programme to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, which include the right of free movement for individuals. “The mayor has been great,” says Paris-based Nagelsmith. “He’s been enthusiastic about the project from the beginning.” The historic old bridge in the city centre was recently restored and the exhibit is one of the first to adorn it.

The project has also received support from the International School of Geneva and Mandat International, which have developed a parallel art project for schools. Earth Focus Foundation in Geneva is also involved and provides guided visits.

Links to other sites and contacts:

• Imaginaid on Murs project
  
• Earth Focus for guided visits, +41 22 704 3514, nicola@earthfocus.org, sandra@earthfocus.org
• Educational project, International School of Geneva, Michaelene Stack, communications office, +41 22 787 2663, communications@ecolint.ch

Photographers whose work is part of the exhibit: Christopher Anderson, Peter Boer, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Stéphane Duroy, Macduff Everton, Ron Haviv, Sean Hemmerle, Shai Kremer, Henk Kruger, Chris Maluszynski, Peter Marlow, Tomas Muscionico, Franco Pagetti, Moises Saman, Frédéric Sautereau, Anthonz Suau

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