How War Photographer Julia Leeb Is Using Virtual Reality and Art to Let Comfortable People Experience the Terror of Conflict Zones
One of her most important projects was a 2017 exhibition at the Süddeutscher Verlag publishing house in her hometown of Munich, where she combined photography and VR. A groundbreaking initiative, the show enabled viewers to see a photograph and then put on a VR camera and experience what it depicts for themselves. Oftentimes, photographs from areas of conflict can seem foreign and abstract for those of us fortunate enough to be living in a secure, comfortable environment. Leeb’s exhibition brought these conflict zones, and those horribly affected by them, closer to home—and raised a new consciousness about the small world we inhabit.
Contrary to her work as a journalist, Leeb removes any context in her art that relates to the time or situation in which the photo was taken, narrowing down the focus to the most human element. She uses paint to as a base, giving images different hues to further accentuate their content. Then, she layers the photographs on top the paint. The resulting image represents a raw, unfiltered depiction of humanity. Looking at her artworks, questions of locality and time disappear as the realities of conflict and terror gain a sense of inescapable immediacy, regardless of where and when they took place.
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