“Wherever I go, I see a portrait,” said Harvard resident Kathryn Costello, a professional photographer who specializes in head shots and branding. “I see people in a certain way, and I capture them,” she added, as she and I stood in the large gallery at Fivesparks in the old library in front of her photograph of a beautiful Arab girl whom Costello had caught in the last perfect moments of a fading light. Another photo shows an older man amid the collectibles in his museum, fingers interlaced and a look of pride on his distinguished face.
Kathryn Costello. (Courtesy photo)
These portraits are part of “Nineveh: Beauty For Ashes,” Costello’s photography exhibit on display now until Nov. 1, in which she captures the spirit of the people who survived ISIS attacks in a region of Kurdistan in Northern Iraq called the Nineveh Plains. Other photos show the decimation of buildings, especially ancient religious structures, juxtaposed with shots of the untouched beauty of the mountainous land dotted with olive orchards. “The light there is beautiful,” said Costello.
Costello has made two trips to the Nineveh Plains as a photographer and experienced web designer for the small nonprofit ARCH International (Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage). The company works worldwide with civic groups who are defending their cultural heritage in conflict zones. Stand With Nineveh, a current project of ARCH in the town of Alqosh, seeks to stabilize and rebuild an ancient shrine to the Old Testament prophet Nahum, using original materials, tools, and techniques to create a World Heritage Site. The shrine is a huge stone building used as a synagogue by Jews who thrived in the town in the 40s and 50s until driven out by Arab nationalists. The shrine had fallen into disrepair and would likely have been a total loss were it not for the efforts of ARCH. In restoring the shrine and perhaps also building a teahouse in the town, ARCH is hoping to attract tourism and help the area’s economy.
Shepherd girl on the Nineveh Plains, Iraq. (Photos by Kathryn Costello)
Catholic priest in his heavily damaged church after his town in northern Iraq was liberated from ISIS occupation.
The first trip Costello made was in 2017 with “an entourage” from ARCH. The group followed a set agenda and traveled to several towns, with Costello taking photos for the website. She realized when they returned home that her shots of the people left her with the feeling of wanting to do more. She made a case to ARCH for going back, which she did by herself in April 2019 to stay a week in Alqosh and focus on photographing the people. She said she was a little nervous on her own, landing at Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region, at 2 a.m., and wondering what she would do if her driver wasn’t there to meet her. She never felt she was in any danger, and once she was in Alqosh and realized how welcome she was, she felt very comfortable.
So much joy
“I got so much joy out of the people,” said Costello. One woman chased after her down the street to give her a rose. Many people invited her into their homes. She said it’s always tricky as a photographer, wanting to take pictures but not wanting to intrude on people’s privacy. One photo is of a woman who brought Costello into her home to see a red Christmas tree painted on her wall. “The people of the town love to paint,” Costello said, and she saw many colorful murals. Another picture is of a woman who had painted both the inside and outside of her home with religious symbols. “Some people come here thinking it is a church,” the woman told Costello. She actually runs a shop, selling scarves and other items.
Costello said the religions and ethnicities of the people living in this section of Kurdistan are very complex, forming a “mosaic.” The Chaldean Catholics of Assyrian ethnicity are the most numerous. Photos show the arched stonework of the ancient Rabban Hormizd Monastery and a beautiful religious carving.
The Kurds, of Iraqui ethnicity are Islamic. A third group is the Yazidis, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, with the majority living in Iraq, primarily in Nineveh Plains. Their religion combines elements from Christianity, Islam, and others. Costello said the sun is an important part of their worship, and she saw images of the sun outside the town. Each of the groups stays pretty much to itself. They are a peaceful people, Costello said, whose lives have been drawn into others’ wars.
Spared destruction, full of hope
Costello spent time with Father Araam Romel Qia, who told her how the people in Algosh watched from the rooftop of the church as the Kurdish fighters of northern Iraq, the Peshmerga, held off the ISIS soldiers from entering the town. As a result, Alqosh did not sustain the damage that the nearby town of Batnaya and other areas did. Costello visited Batnaya with Father Araam and saw the widespread destruction.
Around 900 buildings were partially or completely destroyed during the three years ISIS occupied Batnaya, and Costello shows some of that ruin in one of the photos. The exhibit also shows the interior damage done to a church there, used as a training center for terrorist soldiers. Of special impact is a standing statue of Mary, greatly damaged but recognizable by the distinctive blue color of her robe. Graffiti on a wall translates, “Let all know we are soldiers of the succession and we are coming, God willing.”
“The people are full of hope,” said Costello. They are hoping that displaced people will return to their homeland. An elder told Costello that he was a child selling eggs on the side of the road when he saw a Jewish pilgrimage to the shrine. There is hope Jewish pilgrims will return to the site in the future.
Costello plans to go back. “The shrine is a work in progress. I need to go back to when it is finished. The story is not done.”
On Nov. 1, at a 6:30 p.m. closing reception at 7 Fairbank St., Costello will give a PowerPoint presentation of more photographs of the Nineveh Plains with recordings of the voices of some of the people of Alqosh.
