Green Zone (Brilliant Orange, White Interference), 2006

Peter Simpson, “On the Edge with Wanda Koop”, “Ottawa Citizen”, February 17, 2011, Arts&Life, E1.

Wanda Koop's “Green Zone” series considers the content of the Iraq war and the manner in which it was transmitted through television. Koop's paintings invite us to re-examine the images delivered through media; are we emotionally distanced from violent conflict? The visual harmony of the boldly hued canvas with its simplified forms is disrupted as the viewer reconstructs and ponders over the images portrayed. Simpson writes how the “Green Zone” series is imbued with “...that sense of a contradictory removal, a distance that is both insignificant and immense.” Wanda Koop commented on the series: “When the war started in Iraq I felt so helpless and I realized as an artist that there's something so incredibly powerful about being able to make art that counters all that.”