Terror is the Focus of Photography Exhibit

Westborough photographer Ian Tink explores the role of terrorism in history in his recently opened exhibit Terror Begets Terror, a series of photo essays on display at on Lyman Street.

The show opened on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. “I did not want to look at 9/11 as an isolated event,” Tink said. “I wanted to put it in the context of man’s history of violence.”

In doing so, Tink created seven photo essays that span the length of the exhibit room. His photos start with torture devices used in the Spanish Inquisition, photos he took while in Toledo, Spain. As the exhibit winds around the room, the audience is taken through World War II, the Holocaust, 9/11, the death of Osama bin Laden, the torture of gays in Uganda and finally to peaceful scenes. The final essay, he told Westborough Patch, is aptly called Peace Among Us.

Tink said he will frequent the exhibit often to make himself available for questions and comments. As he shared his photographs during a recent tour, he started with jarring pictures of historic terror devices. Tink said, “The amount of work and craftsmanship that went into terror devices of the Spanish Inquisition are just amazing.” 

Later photos included a Holocaust memorial covering five acres in Berlin, Germany, and the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. He said he was taken by the way in which the memorials in Berlin were presented. “The city is incredibly responsible in owning the event,” he said.

In addition to photos of the Twin Towers before and after 9/11, Tink shared photos of the 9/11 memorial in Framingham, taken the day after Osama bin Laden was killed. He was struck by how empty the park was while he was there and the sharp contrast that he found a short time later at a memorial in Boston Garden.

“The press corps far outnumbering all others, reminiscent of the fact that the lifeblood of terrorism is the press and publicity, and the lifeblood of taking terrorism to task and preventing more terrorism is a free and open press,” he stated.

Caregivers of young children are advised to consider the content of the show. Tink said that the heavy messages of the exhibit may be lost on younger children, but he has found some of the photos of fire and destruction can scare children.

Terror Begets Terror is scheduled to run through Oct. 21. The exhibit is free and open to the public. To contact Ian Tink, email IanTink@Post.Harvard.Edu.

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