UNC's Battle Forest transforms into haunting marine exhibit

It's officially Photography Month, and Arts Everywhere and Click! Photography Festival have worked to change the lay of the land near Forest Theatre into something thought-provoking. 

Taking a few steps into Battle Park until Oct. 15 will bring you face-to-face with Marines who fought on the front line in the Garmsir District in Afghanistan, photographed back in 2008 by award-winning photographer Louie Palu. 

His goal was to capture those stationed in the worst area and the furthest out — the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines (1/6). The 1/6 was created 100 years ago by Woodrow Wilson during World War I, and represents a history filled with countless troops, wars and lives lost on field. 

Palu’s work is inspired by the famous World War II photograph of Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, not because of what they were doing, but because he didn’t know who they were.

The black and white photographs are blown up, confrontational and stirring. The eyes of these young men tell a story that no average twenty-one year old will ever experience — the story of war. 

And Palu’s work shows that those who fight in wars are more than just statistics.

“There’s no human face on a press release,” Palu said. “And these photos, except for one, they all look at you.” 

That’s the goal — for you to see them. 

“I wanted them to be really big and overwhelming, so that you had to face them,” Palu said.

The deliberate depiction of the marines without their guns, and in trees instead of a museum creates a raw, personal atmosphere with just you — and each of them.

First-year Caroline Travis said she liked being forced into the woods to see the photos. 

“There were no extra distractions,” Travis said. “You just saw the people and their struggles.”

It’s important to Palu that the public meet these young men as individuals.

“Just like know their name, how old they are, where they’re from and make it personal again,” Palu said.

Palu also brought up the importance of treating both veterans and current Marines like people. 

“I think the standard line is ‘thank you for your service,’” Palu said. “But I think some of them just want jobs, the right health care or to be welcomed back by their families.” 

Associate director of Arts Everywhere, Rachel Ash, hopes that the dialogue sparked by the exhibit helps bridge the conversation between military-affiliated communities and civilians.

“I’d like for people to start to think about all the different types of people who are touched by war and conflict and to realize there is a human story for each of those people,” Ash said. 

The official celebration of the exhibit’s installment will be in the park at 12 p.m. on Oct. 4, beside Forest Theater. 

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