My Brother's War

• Prize
• Photographer
  Jessica Hines, United States
• Date of Photograph
  online
• Website
  http://www.jessicahines.com

In 1967 my brother, Gary, was drafted into the US Army during the American War in Vietnam. Because both of our parents were ill and Gary was our caretaker, I was sent to live with relatives and never saw my brother again for years. He arrived in Qui Nhon, Vietnam on my eighth birthday.

Discharged from the army in December of 1969 with a ?service connected nervous disorder?, he came to know his problem as ?Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?. My pre-war brother, a normal and well-adjusted person had become, according to the Veteran?s Administration, 50% disabled. He took his own life ten years later.

Thirty-five years after his death, I discovered among his belongings, a memo pad that revealed the names and addresses of his wartime friends, some of whom, I have managed to contact. Traveling to Vietnam in 2007 and 2008, I used Gary?s letters and photographs to retrace his ?footsteps? to witness the physical area that ?framed? his visits to the frontlines and to uncover the mystery of his life and death.

In titling this series, ?My Brother?s War?, I make reference to the other families worldwide who have lost and are presently losing loved ones in war.

?With the intention of going beyond the deeply personal, my images are to be received by a broad audience. They speak of memory, personal tragedy and loss, and visually express my inquisitiveness into the nature of reality. They are made with a balance of both heart and mind.?

Hines studied fine art photography at Washington University in St. Louis where she earned a BFA and subsequently, an MFA from the University of Illinois. She combines her background in painting with traditional and alternative processes in photography. Respected for her creative approach in constructed imagery, she lectures on her work and teaches workshops internationally.

Residing in private and public collections, Hines? work has been exhibited in nearly 100 solo and group exhibitions both nationally and abroad. Her work has been widely published, most recently in Camera Arts, Shots and The New Yorker.

?Things are not as they seem. Nor are they otherwise.?
The Lankavatara Sutra