A new exhibition focusing on the love and solidarity found in one of the world’s worst conflict zones is set to open on London’s South Bank today (11 February 2010).

A collaboration between Oxfam and portrait photographer Rankin, the exhibition “From Congo with Love” is inspired by the untold compassion of ordinary people surviving ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It will be displayed on Theatre Square at the National Theatre until 11 April 2010.

Eastern Congo is one of the most violent places in the world. Two million people are displaced, but the majority don’t live in camps. Instead, they live with families who have opened their homes to those who have lost everything – in many cases complete strangers. Rankin met host families who were housing one to three other families in small, two-roomed homes.

As well as looking at the kindness shown by Congo’s host families, the portraits focus on other forms of love found in Congo, such as romantic love, mother’s love and the pain of love lost. The portraits were taken on Rankin’s second trip to Congo in late 2009, with the people photographed against the same trademark white background that Rankin uses with celebrity clients, such as Kate Moss and the Queen.

Rankin said:
“My style of portraiture is about bringing people out of themselves, getting them to share something. I chose to photograph the people against a white background instead of in their physical environment. The expressions in their eyes and on their faces - their humanity - was what I wanted people to notice and relate to.
“This collection focuses on the relationships that bind people to each other - the connections that make us human. I hope that these photographs can aid understanding. They are neither ugly images of brutality, nor sentimental images of suffering. The world needs imagery that, instead of encouraging pity and powerlessness, promotes understanding, connection, and ultimately action.  It’s about making people accessible to each other.”

As well as taking his own portraits, Rankin held photography workshops with the local community, handing out cameras and teaching almost one hundred people how to take their own pictures.  The images taken by the community are a major part of the “From Congo with Love” exhibition with over 150 images by the community displayed alongside Rankin’s own work. The photographs focus on the things that people in the community love and hold dear – from children and homes to favourite pets and football teams.

Rankin said:
“I gave out cameras so that the people could have authorship over their own images - show us what was important in their lives.  The images I got back were amazing, like an intimate family album of life in the Congo. It gives the people that see the images in the UK a very direct connection to people in Congo.”
In addition, a photographic booth at the exhibition will allow visitors to take their own pictures and add them to the exhibition, showing their solidarity with the people of eastern Congo.

Exhibition: Theatre Square at the National Theatre 
South Bank, London, SE1 9PX 
Telephone 020 7452 3400
until 11 April 2010
FREE