Finalist, Witness Objects by Luke Watson

"Witness Objects features a series of items involved in conflicts ranging from the First World War to the Siege of Sarajevo, converted into pinhole cameras. The pieces range from helmets to empty food cans, each one belonging to an extensive collection held at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These objects are witnesses to events associated with war; each one designed to perform, protect or survive violent acts. They are symbols, artifacts and evidence. Their temporary modification into pinhole cameras has given them an unexpected new function, transitioning them from passive objects into potentially active tools. The work produced with these cameras has a tentative, yet symbolic, connection to the object itself. It references the cyclical nature of conflict, the blurring of fact and fiction and the stories that go undocumented."