Camouflage
Omar Columbus
March 3-25
Curated by Poetic Theater Productions
“I’ve entitled this series “Camouflage” as an expression of my life as a veteran living and struggling with readjustment to civilian life after combat. Navigating the streets of New York City, viewing life through a camouflage lens, I’ve been searching for some peace and healing through photography. My PTSD has caused anxiety when approaching daily activities including walking the streets, riding the subway, and crossing bridges. With this series of images, I’m attempting to explore the fine line many veterans walk when reintegrating into civilian life.”
Omar Columbus is a photographer, poet, curator, advocate, and an Air Force veteran. A native of Washington, North Carolina, he enlisted after high school and served for 12 years on active duty. An Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veteran seeking healing and comfort from post-traumatic stress, his poetry and photography became his creative outlets. Omar has always believed that events in his life have been compelling. He is now learning to work through his trauma creatively, and talk about those things and heal through his art, storytelling, and advocacy.
A Brooklyn College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Art, Omar has written and performed with Poetic Theater Productions since 2019, collaborating on over 20 projects. Omar has also read his poetry at the Geraldine Dodge Poetry Festival, the New York City Poetry Festival, at the New-York Historical Society, and a collaboration with Exit12 Dance Company for a performance on the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. Omar Columbus is an Advisory Board Member of Poetic Theater Productions’ Veteran Voices Program.
Omar was interviewed and photographed for a street fashion editorial for “Cool America Magazine” in Summer 2019. Omar’s photography has been featured in various group exhibitions at the legendary Salmagundi Club in New York, and he was offered the opportunity to curate a show of veteran artists from across the nation, representing all branches of the military. “From There to Here: Military Veterans’ Experiences” opened at Salmagundi Club in Manhattan in February 2020, and in 2022 he curated a second show for Salmagundi entitled Journey Onward. The curation work and has melded Columbus’ passion for art with his continued passion for helping fellow veterans.@omarcphotography
