Beware the cost of war exhibition at Blackall Studios

Today (Monday) saw a change in my timetable, instead of my usual features class we were asked to go to a photography exhibition curated by Yoav Galli, a student at City University on the Olive Tree programme, detailed here. His and other photographers themes were their experiences of the continuing wars between Israelis and Arabs on the west bank, Gaza strip and in Yoav's case in Lebanon. All the photographers are either Israeli or Palestinian, showing what happens on their doorstep.

Some of the photos were striking. Some disgusting. There was the usual crying babies and anguished families and friends of those who had been killed, but we also saw some pretty gruesome stuff: Dying, rotting bodies (often with missing limbs/ heads), injured soldiers with blank expressions, but the images that shocked me most were of dead children, sometimes buried in rubble so that all you can see is their heads. The more horrific images were shown in a seperate presentation by three of the photographers in the exhibit, Yoav, Mohammed Abed and Lior Mizrahi. So I'll focus on some of the ones in the actual exhibition.

Yoav's were mostly of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, with whom he had been embedded (whereby a Journalist is placed in a troop to report on what they are doing). This was the soldiers with blank expressions and blood dripping down their faces after being hit unexpectedly.

Mohammed's were very familiar. One was what he described as "the first act of the war" (the most recent war in Gaza in January this year), when a group of graduating police officers in gaza were bombed by the Israelis. The background features lifeless bodies on the ground, but the foreground is more striking, an injured officer reaching toward the camera, his face one of fear and pain. This image was used for the cover of the Guardian's G2 insert, for a special feature on the Gaza war. It has stuck with me since then. Another of his photos was used along with others in a campaign by Human Rights Watch earlier this year. From the same war, it is an image of the UN refugee school being bombed by White Phosphurus Shells. The images are incredible, and he can't of been more than a few metres away from being hit (he said he could even smell it as it was falling). It was concrete proof that Israel had used an illegal weapon. Nothing has yet been done.

I didn't remember which photos in the exhibition were Lior's, but in his presentation he showed us a few photos of palestinian civilians in clashes with Israel border guards, as well as a few suicide bombings, and even a photo from the funeral of Yasar Arafat.

Of the other photographers, there were one or two that made my jaw drop. A photo by Mahmoud Hams of a missile just about to drop in the middle of a running crowd was particularly awe-inspiring. Bloggers had accused the photographer of photoshopping the missile in, but Yoav showed us the original. It was real. It was an incredible capture.

Another, taken by Fady Adwan, took me a couple of looks to realise the horror of it. The focal point is a dead man on the street in the arms of his friend/ relative who is crying. A usual horrific photo, but a slight glance to the left and you see it, a man with half his head blown off.

This exhibit made me feel a little sick, but more so it made me angry. Why had no-one done anything about the use of White Phosphurous? Why were there all these people who had been training to help keep the peace lying dead? Why do these two peoples keep this fight going despite growing international pressure to get talking? Why are the Israelis so over the top in their retaliation? There are answers to these questions, and they just make me more angry.

But I think my friend Dan made a good point. "3o years ago, we'd be out on the streets chanting against this. Now, we see the photos, say how horrible it all is, and do nothing." That probably needs to change.