I took this photo in 1991, when I was experimenting with some black and white film and thought that this would make a nice composition. Once developed, the negatives found their way into a drawer and did not see the light of day for many years. In the time following 9-11-2001, I recalled that I had these images of the World Trade Centre and decided to dig them out. When I came across this image, I was overcome with a very eerie sensation. Why? The day I took these images out of the file was the day after the U.S. had begun the war with Iraq. Suddenly, the image of the soldier, rescuing a fellow human being from a tragic situation, with the Twin Towers in the background , had much more meaning to it than it did when it was a simple snapshot back in 1991.

The Liberation Monument was designed by sculptor Nathan Rappaport and is located at the South Overlook in Liberty State Park in New Jersey. "Liberation" depicts an unarmed World War 2 American soldier carrying a survivor out of a Nazi concentration camp. It is a reminder of the past and an inspiration for freedom, compassion, and hope for future generations. It is my hope that this photograph expresses those same sentiments.

You may purchase prints of this image directly via my website at http://christianjstewart.zenfolio.com Please see the "Black and White" gallery.