A new London exhibition about art since 9/11 begins with images both familiar and shocking of the devastated Twin Towers in New York.
The Imperial War Museum's "Age of Terror " show goes on to display works from the United States, Britain, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and beyond, all dealing with Sept 11, 2001 and its consequences. It's evidence, if any were needed, that the al- Qaida attacks on the US changed the world.
Rebecca Newell, the museum's head of art, said Wednesday that 9/11 was "a watershed in our society, our political and cultural identity. And I think you could probably say that it's a watershed for artists."
Curator Sanna Moore said that "artists have always commented on world-changing events," but research by the museum found that the number of artists reacting to conflicts has increased since the 2001 attacks.
"That was really the nucleus for where this show and this project started," she said at a preview of the exhibition. "As a consequence of the internet, artists are really rapidly informed now, as we all are. I think that feeds in to the subjects they cover."
Sept. 11 coincided with the birth of the internet age, and technology helped make the airliner attacks, which killed some 3,000 people, instantly a worldwide catastrophe.
The exhibition, which opens to the public on Thursday, begins with a reminder of how global it was: a room lined with newspaper front pages from Sept. 12, 2001, bearing images of destruction and headlines of war in many languages.
The museum has gathered work by more than 40 artists for the biggest art show in its 100-year history. Some of the pieces pack a visceral punch: "Nein! Eleven?" by British brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman consists of twin mounds of tiny plastic bodies. Others are allusive. Chilean artist Ivan Navarro's "The Twin Towers" appears to be two inverted skyscrapers plunging through the floor into infinity; in fact it's an optical illusion created with mirrors and fluorescent lights.
Other works reflect on the growth of state control and surveillance during the "war on terror" launched by the U.S. after 9/11. Chinese artist Ai Weiwei recreates a surveillance camera in gleaming marble on a plinth, while Indian artist Jitish Kallat has sculpted a playful line of miniature people being searched, as if in an airport security queue.
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