Rafal Gerszak is a founding member of the Boreal Collective.After being embedded with American troops in Afghanistan for 12 months, I arrived back in Canada. I felt odd and out of place, and missed the pureness of photographing in a war zone—or at least I thought I did. I immediately went back un-embedded to cover the presidential election and focus on civilian life in a war zone. I continued my work in Kabul and surrounding areas for the next couple of years. I felt comfortable being there because I felt normal and I was able to function in a hazardous environment.
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I decided I would do one more embed since some of the soldiers I documented a couple years before were back for another tour. It is then I realized how fucked up my mind had become. I decided to come back to Canada and get healthy again but as time went on I felt more and more out of place. I questioned our society and where we place our values. I couldn't identify with friends and family. Worst of all, I lost my way as a photographer.I spent three years in Vancouver doing freelance assignments and trying to get my mind right. At the same time, I was spending a lot of time outdoors: learning how to fish, learning about wildlife, and learning about myself.I wanted to go farther and farther away where there were fewer and fewer people. I kept driving north through BC and kept going to the Yukon. I met good people; I felt at home, I found a place where I belonged again.This is where my inspiration came for the projects I am working on. The peacefulness, the respect for others, and the way time just slows down made me want spend more and more time in the north. Because of the Yukon and her people I feel healthy again, I feel like I belong again, and I am finding peace from the mindfuck that is war.
