Artwork Information

In early 1978, to further her documentation of what Victoria Ginn refers to as non-western ‘Old World’ cultures, the artist journeyed to Afghanistan. After travelling to various centres of Afghan culture - Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharīf, Ginn was imprisoned, and her cameras confiscated. While a prisoner the 1978 Saur Revolution took place in which the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) overthrew Afghan president Mohammed Daoud Khan. The PDPA uprising resulted in the socialist Afghan government that was closely aligned with the Soviet Union. Saur or Sowr is the Dari-language name for the second month of the Solar Hijri calendar, which is when the events took place. During her time in prison a camera was smuggled in and a series about women and children was achieved. Later, Ginn was able to recover some of her confiscated films. The story of her journey, titled Freedom’s Edge: A Journey and Imprisonment in Afghanistan was published in 2001.