Ashley Gilbertson, Iraq

Ashley Gilbertson, Iraq

One photojournalist had left his home country of Australia to venture into the turmoil and war of Iraq from 2002 to 2008 to capture some of these iconic shots. His work was published in the esteemed New York Times, Time Magazine and Vanity Fair; in his book, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, that presents his collection of war shots and memoirs; and on the VII Network photo agency’s website, to which he is still employed. He has received the Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club for his troubles.

Ashley Gilbertson's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Ashley Gilbertson, Iraq

His name is Ashley Gilbertson, and he is thirty-three years old.

VII Agency, Ashley Gilbertson

During his time in Iraq his interest shifted quickly from those caught in the middle of the action, to those firing the bullets from both sides of the spectrum. “I wanted to know why, and how they could do that, intentionally try to kill one another,” he explains in a FotoEvidence interview with Svetlana Bachevanova. However he eventually came to realize that, in time, this too would be overdone—that the public was being shown multiple images of the same scenes in the war and it was beginning to “all blend together.”

Hence his experience in Iraq’s combat zone, as well as his travels to Kosovo and West Papua where he spent the earlier part of his career documenting the predicaments of refugees, proved to be beneficial as it shaped his present-day view on the photography world as a whole. Gilbertson perceived the need for a fresh, new angle on war photography that could still accentuate the loss and consequence of battle, and achieve a satisfactory level of social justice for those who are or were in combat/have been affected by the war.

It was only when his wife Joanna (with whom he presently resides in New York City with their son) suggested in 2007 that he kick off a new project that focus on fallen soldiers, did it set in motion Gilbertson’s soon-to-be renowned photo collection titled Bedrooms of the Fallen. He describes the project as following:

These bedrooms once belonged to men and women who died fighting in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These fallen men and women were blown up by IEDs, RPGs, hand grenades and suicide bombers. They were shot down in ambushes and by snipers. They died in helicopters, in humvees and in tanks. It all took place thousands of miles away from home, and the country they fought to defend.

The purpose of this project is to honor these fallen – not simply as soldiers, marines, airmen and seamen, but as sons, daughters, sisters and brothers – and to remind us that before they fought, they lived, and they slept, just like us, at home.

This photoseries boasts much success with several awards and nominations, including the US National Magazine Award for his feature called The Shrine Down the Hall published in the New York Times Magazine.

Ashley Gilbertson's feature in the NY Times

Bedrooms of the Fallen, Kirk J. Bosselmann

Bedrooms of the Fallen, Christopher G. Scherer

This project was at first American-based but with the help of a site, Kickstarter, he funded $15, 000 US dollars that allowed him to broaden his project globally; he sourced and photographed bedrooms of deceased soldiers from Canada and countries throughout Europe, such as the United Kingdom, Poland, Holland, France, Germany and Italy. No matter where the shots are taken, his photos retain the underlying concept of absence and devastation.

Gilbertson has been expanding this photo collection ever since, striving to humanize victims or make the subject of war and tragedy relatable to the public, just as he had always hoped and sought out to do in his previous work. “My motivation is to humanize the dead, make it personal to people,” he says in the interview with New York Times’ Miki Meek, “It’s very hard to understand who these people are when the story is so foreign, but we can all relate to the bedrooms…The soldiers are no longer just ranks, ages, and names…You walk into these rooms and you feel like these are the kids you used to hang out with.”

Bedrooms of the Fallen, Nils G. Thompson

Bedrooms of the Fallen, Thomas Day Caughman

The photojournalist’s other recent works, On The Line and Shell Shock, develop the ongoing theme of the consequences of the war: the two collections explore veteran suicides and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some of his other photo series, like Emergency and Down, cover topics like the results of the American healthcare system in the hospitals and the remaining impact of the recession on the people of Wall Street. Thus, despite his photography not being continually war-related, there remains the recurring theme and exploration of aftermath in his works, apart from one new collection: Ready To Eat.

Another of Gilbertson's projects, in which he wrote and included some of his photography--all relating to Noah Pierce, a young soldier who survived his time in Iraq but committed suicide upon returning home.

Ready To Eat introduces to the viewers the M.R.E.’s (Meals Ready to Eat) that soldiers from different countries are given; he brings about the idea of diversity and multiculturalism which connects back to one of his central themes and motivations: the commonality between us all, since everyone can relate to his photos. In each photograph, especially those in Bedrooms of the Fallen, he still addresses the collective interest and humanity—everyone eats; everyone sleeps; everyone loses a loved one.

An Italian Razione, Viveri Speciali Da Combattimento, or Special Military Ration Pack, Module C, the same as the those eaten by the Italian military at war in Afghanistan, photographed in a studio in New York City on Sept. 1, 2010. The contents include pasta and bean soup, beef tortellini, mackerel in olive oil, canned sausages, fruit salad, fruit bars, fruit jellies, sweet and savory crackers, chocolate, salt, whole fiber tablets, vitamin tablets, instant coffee, sugar, sweetened condensed milk, matches, three toothpicks, and three toothbrushes. (VII Agency)

An American Meal, Ready-To-Eat, or MRE, Menu #2 "Pork Rib," the same as the those eaten by the American military at war in Afghanistan, photographed in a studio in New York City on Aug. 31, 2010. Menu #2 contains pork ribs, BBQ sauce, tortillas, potato cheddar soup, blackberry jam, peanut butter, skittles, nut raisin mix, chewing gum, sugar, instant coffee, creamer, lemon lime beverage powder, salt, moist towelette, toilet paper, and matches. (VII Agency)

Gilbertson admits that his attention has been persistently concentrated on the people and their stories, and not so much on the politics of it all. He states: “If I politicize it, I am dividing human beings.” His mission and priorities as a photojournalist is then quite clear. As he declares in the FotoEvidence interview, the story always comes first and his sense of purpose and duty outweighs his sense of strong photography.

Due to his passion and fixation on humanization and the peoples’ stories, his photography has the potential to enlighten the world as to the realistic sad consequences of war and its ability to deeply affect the homefront. He says that since his new approach to war photography in Bedrooms of the Fallen shows compassion and depicts, in his opinion, true war photography, the public can much more readily relate to the subject. “In combat [it is] high stress… It’s easier for me to disengage somewhat emotionally when I’m photographing wounded or dying soldiers. Its part of the job and emotions are sidelined to be dealt with later,” Gilbertson clarifies in FotoEvidence. “In the bedrooms there is no way to disengage. You’re just overcome by the absence. All [the parents’ of the dead soldiers] want, each and every one of them, is that their son or daughter [be] remembered.” And that is just what he is doing: memorializing the young dead soldiers and making the public aware of the bleak truth, that no one is safe from the war and that they aren’t as detached as they may think.

This is the bedroom that belonged to Cpl. Christopher Scherer, a U.S. Marine who died in Iraq in 2007 at the age of 21. He liked sports, and sports hats.

For more in this awesome series by photographer Ashley Gilbertson, check out “The Shrine Down the Hall” in The New York Times Magazine.