Raphaël Dallaporta (b. France, 1980) is an exciting and provocative voice among a new generation of international photographers. He has garnered widespread acclaim for thoughtful projects that examine warfare, violence, power and the fragility of life.

This exhibition at the Gallery of Photography marks Dallaporta’s first showing in Ireland. At its heart is Anti-Personnel, the artist’s compelling series on landmines. These exquisitely constructed instruments of death are photographed as if they were the latest luxury item. Accompanied by terse captions – name of device, country and date of manufacture – the pictures build up a chilling portrait of man’s twisted ingenuity.

The series Ruins continues the artist’s study of technology by recreating the gaze of unmanned drone flights over Afghanistan. Like his other projects, Ruins was made in collaboration with experts from different fields – in this case, a French-Afghan archaeological team. With Domestic Slavery he worked with writer Ondine Millot, to explore the complex role of photography as evidence. In Fragile he and a forensic pathologist showed us the hidden recesses of the human body.

Dallaporta has consistently used the medium to reveal what we could not otherwise see. His work refuses sensationalism, cynicism or hand-wringing despair: it advocates instead the profound importance of bearing witness.

Raphaël Dallaporta , born France, 1980. He is the winner of the 2010 Young Photographer ICP Infinity Award and FOAM’s 2011 Paul Huf Award. Solo exhibitions include “Raphaël Dallaporta, Protocole” at Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, in 2010, “Autopsy” curated by Kathy Ryan at the New York 2008 Photo Festival, and “Antipersonnel” curated by Martin Parr at Les Rencontres d’Arles 2004, among many others in Europe, Asia and New York. His work is included in the collections of the Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland; Fond National d’Art Contemporain (FNAC), Paris and the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris.