Timor Leste - The Shattered Dreams of Independence

– Murdoch University Art Collection in association with FotoFreo 2008 - The City of Fremantle Festival of Photography is proud to present:

Timor Leste - The Shattered Dreams fo Independence Photojournalism by Agnes Dherbeys Murdoch University Art Gallery Level 4, North Wing Library Building, South Street Campus 2 April to 27 April 2008

Supporters of Nobel Prize Jose Ramos Horta shouting at the Freitlin pro Lu-Olo supporters passing next to them. The last day of presidential elections campaign, around 30 people were injured during clashes between rival political party supporters.

Despite winning their independence in May 2002 in a bloody struggle, The East Timorese people continue to have trouble building a coherent national identity. The murderous violence within the army in 2006 divided the country between Easterners and Westerners and the gravity of the situation forced an International Armed Force (mandated by the United Nations, under Australian administration) to undergo peace keeping operations in the country. World Press award winning photographer Agnes Dherbey captures the exploding and volatile atmosphere of the 2007 presidential elections, symptomatic of the bitterness within the troubled country. Despite all of the turmoil, the Timorese voted massively for a Nobel Peace Prize Winner: José Ramos Horta.

Agnès Dherbeys is a 31 year old French photographer working for the French Cosmos Agency in Paris and she is a founding member of EVE, the international collective of women photographers. She graduated with honours from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Lyon and has a Master’s of Sciences of Information and Communication from Celsa, Sorbonne IV. She began studying photography upon moving to Bangkok in 2001, and has since worked in Nepal, East Timor, Cambodia and Thailand, with some time spent in Palestinian Territories. Her work has been published in international publications including Newsweek, Le Monde 2, Libération, the South China Morning Post Magazine and Marie Claire Magazine. In 2005 she was a finalist in the La Bourse du Talent – Reportage, for her photographic documentation of the tsunami devastation in Thailand. After covering the devastation caused by the tsunami, she returned a year later to trace the stories of the lives of survivors, and of reconstruction in Phang Nga, North of Phuket. In 2005 she was the winner of the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation photographer grant for her project in East Timor, titled “From Independence to Dependence.” Her work has been screened and exhibited in several photographic festivals including, Visa pour l’Image, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Lianzhou Photo Festival and Angkor Photo Festival. In 2005 and 2006, the Photographic Museum KMOPA in Japan acquired a collection of Dherbeys’ images which were photographed during the time she spent documenting the Tsunami and East Timor.

Floor talk by Professor David Hill, Chair South East Asian Studies 3pm Wednesday 16th April.

FOTOFREO 2008 - The City of Fremantle Festival of Photography – 2 - 28 April features more than 70 exhibitions in Fremantle and Perth and includes a conference, forums, lectures, floor talks and a seminar. The festival dates are 5 April - 4 May. Program details of other exhibitions and events featured in FOTOFREO can be viewed at www.fotofreo.com