Five Years On, Reflections and Debate

Fifty black and white photographs bringing back the devastation of Sept. 11, 2001 hung on the walls of a North Berkeley church yesterday, providing what photographer X Bonnie Woods hoped would be "a time of remembrance and healing."

The exhibit features photographs taken immediately following Sept. 11 when Woods worked with volunteer disaster-relief teams at Ground Zero and was asked to document their operations.

The series, "Workers at Ground Zero: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes," will be on display at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley through Thursday.

Woods said she strove to maintain the images in their original forms. All the photographs were taken with film, using no flash or tripod, and remained uncropped.

One photograph shows bits of venetian blinds and clothing clinging to a sycamore tree 30 or 40 feet above ground. The caption for another, which featured rat-poison notices stuck all over a lamp post on Broadway, read: "Thousands of rats have been displaced by the destruction and are seen everywhere in broad daylight."

Woods said she hoped to capture the spirit exemplified by the rescue workers who "helped to counterbalance the country's grief, horror and distrust."

Speaking to an audience eating Sunday brunch, Woods recalled the terrible stench at Ground Zero.

"It was a mixture of the smell of an electrical fire, concrete and a barbecue you had three days ago," she said.

For Lynn Kelly, a student at the Starr King School for the Ministry, healing comes from confronting the nation's unease after Sept. 11.

"It's easy to feel too safe by not paying attention to it," she said. "Seeing the photographs makes me feel unsafe."

This was the first time the exhibit appeared in the United States. It was previously shown in Germany. "The response I got was frequently 'These look like it could be my next-door neighbor or a fireman I know.'"

A longtime political activist, Woods still has reservations about showing her work in the U.S., where she says the event has been manipulated by the government and focused on white males by common TV coverage.

"Patriotism has been twisted around in a surreal way," she said.

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