LONG SHADOWS: The Great War, Australia and the Middle East

Exhibition information

Exhibition Details

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Date5 September - 11 NovemberLocationThe University GalleryCurator/sGillean ShawPress ReleaseThe First World War plays a fundamental role in the national memory of Australia and Gallipoli in particular continues to resonate strongly for Australians. Long Shadows; the Great War, Australia and the Middle East brings together the past with present history to highlight lesser-known experiences of Gallipoli that continue to cast long shadows.

In the Middle East, present conflicts connect with unresolved legacies from a hundred years ago. In recent years, Northern Iraq and Syria have seen re-staged patterns of the stigmatisation, extreme violence, genocide and human trafficking that were extremely widespread during the First World War. With texts, clips and memorable photographs, the exhibition leads the visitor from Australia to Gallipoli, Asia Minor and Northern Syria, from 1915 to 2018. While history may not repeat itself nor lend itself to easy lessons, it can allow for a richer understanding of the world in which we live. The First World War in the Middle East ended in 1918 but, as demonstrated in this exhibition, its shadows of violence, trauma and unresolved conflicts continue to resonate today.

We acknowledge documentary photographer Alessandro Rota for his work with the Yazidi, and Vicken Babkenian, Knar Nalbandian, Nick Pezikian, Raymond Kevorkian and Cultural Collections - University Library at the University of Newcastle, for their contribution to the content of the exhibition.

Images and documents have been provided by The Australian War Memorial Collection, Trove papers from the National Library of Australia, The Armenian Genocide Museum and private archives.

All efforts have been made to ensure the images included in this exhibition are attributed correctly to their source. Images from World War I are considered to be public domain unless otherwise attributed.

This research was funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.

INTRODUCTION TO LONG SHADOWS: THE GREAT WAR, AUSTRALIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST