The Eyewitness series is based on the documentary The
Falling Man, which is about the horrific events of the
terrorist attacks of 9-11, and more specifically about the
victims trapped in the burning buildings. It is about their
final decision to rather jump out of a burning building than
being burned alive.
The whole event and especially the suicides (with the
choice between two forms of death) are still today
completely incomprehensible to me. We all have seen the
pictures and learned how to deal with them. But each time,
their bare horror leaves me speechless.
The one thing I could relate to on these pictures were the
eyewitnesses, petrified in front of the senseless actions
they saw. Their reactions are a filter, a layer in between
me and the attacks. The planes crashing into the building
became to quickly icons, symbolic pictures rather than a
documentation. By focusing on the eyewitnesses, this series
takes a more universal turn and asks how we can apprehend
the incomprehensible.
