Dallas photographer Jeffrey Gusky has spent years documenting the secret world left behind after World War I. Now he's sharing around 2,000 never-before-seen images in a collection titled "The Hidden World of WWI."
Selected images from the collection are on display at One Arts Plaza in downtown Dallas through July 25. The black-and-white photographs reveal how soldiers on the Western Front in France lived underground.
"I found a world frozen in time," Gusky said. The intricate series of tunnels and staircases that led to the battlefield were the private domain of soldiers, who decorated the space with carvings and graffiti.
"These are amazing places that were used for shelter by armies on both sides. These are a direct human connection between then and now."
Inside the tunnels, Gusky found everyday household spaces such as dining and living rooms, but he also discovered large theater spaces and places of worship. "They give us a sense of people who are struggling and striving to hold onto their humanness like we are today," he said.
After it leaves Dallas, Gusky's work will be featured in National Geographic's 100-year anniversary coverage of the beginning of WWI.
The intricate series of tunnels and staircases that led to the battlefield were the private domain of soldiers on the Western Front.
