Roberta Leaverton
Tour of Duty: Iraq
Artist Statement
Less than 6 weeks after the death of my Dad in the winter of 2002, the 530th Military Police Battalion from Omaha, NE activated me in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. I had less than 48 hours to report to a unit I was not familiar with, gear packed and ready to deploy to a very unstable country, Iraq. My husband was already in route to Bosnia leaving the US the very day I got my call. I felt sick inside.
I started a journal while still in the states and continued most of my deployment. I began writing because I wanted to preserve as much as possible; I felt I was making history. My journal along with my camera became the closest thing to my soul while in this foreign land. I would leave a magazine of ammo back in my quarters just to slip my camera in my ammo pouch when going out on missions to record my daily life. My camera soon became as much as a part of daily wear as my dog tags.
My series, “Tour of Duty: Iraq” is a group of images created by constructing 1/35th scale models based off recreating scenes of life in Iraq. These photos are a result of my own artistic effort to recreate my year of boots on ground. The majority of images are to serve as a reminder of what occurred during this time in my life, a symbolic representation. The process of creating this work has truly served as therapy for me, a combat veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Artist Bio
Bert was born and raised in Dawson County and graduated from Cozad High School. “Photography has always been her passion since early childhood” as described by her Mom, Alice Cunningham. Being from a large family and living on a farm, gave her the opportunity to have many subjects to photograph throughout her early years.
Once Bert graduated from high school, she joined the Army National Guard and remained affiliated with the Army and Army Reserve for over twenty years. Throughout her life in both the civilian and military world, she has continued making photographs. Her images are a documentation of her life from third world countries to various locations throughout the United States. Bert’s deployment to Iraq in 2003-2004 allowed her to return with hundreds of photographs, documenting history through her eyes.
In 2010 Bert decided to follow her dream and passion of photography. Bert graduated with high honors from Metro Community College, Elkhorn, NE in 2014 with an Associate’s Degree in Commercial Still Photography.
Her current work, a series titled “Tour of Duty: Iraq” is a series of dioramas in 1/35th scale that depict the realities of war with images of “soldiers” in various scenarios. Bert resides on her acreage outside of Weeping Water, NE with husband, James Leaverton and Mom, Alice Cunningham.