Portraits of No Man's Land

From the old battlefields of WWI to the rebel regions of Colombia

Journeys into life on the edge, from WWI to the forbidden zones of the 21st century

A joint project between Durham University and Royal Holloway, University of London

Online Exhibit

A brief history of No-Man's Land

From its emergence in Medieval England, iconic presence in WWI, and ongoing significance in the 21st century

Online Exhibit

The story of No-Man's Land in 5 objects

Introducing No Man's Land and its various forms through 5 key objects

Walk across No-Man's Land

ExploreNicosia Buffer Zone, Cyprus

ExploreDouaumont Graves, Verdun, France

ExploreEglise en ruine de l'ancien village, France

ExplorePlantain Plantation, Colombia

ExploreFort Vaux, Verdun, France

ExploreBuffer Zone Cafe, Nicosia, Cyprus

No Man's Land, in a new light

Explore the many facets of No Man's Land and how it has been documented and re-created using modern technology

Online exhibit

Behind the scenes of Portraits of No Man's Land

Learn more about the advanced technologies used to document inaccessible, and sometimes invisible spaces

3D Model

Mono Jojoy's jungle villa, Colombia

Discover the jungle villa of the former residence of FARC leader, Mono Jojoy

3D Model

Trident Sun Jet, Nicosia Airport, Cyprus

The Cyprus Airways plane still sits on the tarmac today, abandoned at Nicosia airport in Cyprus

Journeys into No-Man’s Land: France

Beyond the battlefields, explore the legacies that remain today

Virtual Reality Film

The villages that died for France

Play 360° video

Walk around what remains of the village of Bezonvaux, France

Get the best immersive experience by viewing this content on your smartphone with Google Cardboard. Learn more about Cardboard.

Online exhibit

Red Zone to green refuge

Spaces that tell stories of environmental revival and conservation

Online exhibit

Bezonvaux: A window into No Man's Land

Stained glass windows immortalise December 1916 in a chapel in the destroyed village of Bezonvaux, France

Online exhibit

The last inhabitant of a lost village

Guillaume is a forest ranger in a very unusual place, he oversees the forests planted over the No Man's Land of WWI

"No-man's land under snow is like the face of the moon: chaotic, crater ridden, uninhabitable, awful, the abode of madness."― Lieutenant Wilfred Owen, 1917

Journeys into No-Man’s Land: Colombia

Life in between: living in the Zona de Distensiòn

Virtual Reality Film

Zona de Distensión - The Colombian No Man's Land

Play video

Drive along abandoned roads in the Colombian jungle

Get the best immersive experience by viewing this content on your smartphone with Google Cardboard. Learn more about Cardboard.

Online exhibit

Driving in the 'dead zone'

A taxi driver's perspective on the former Zona de Distensiòn, the source of his livelihood and site of reconstruction

Online exhibit

Tracing conflict in a Colombian mural

Explore the social and political symbolism behind this incredible mural

“You are in no man's land. Which never moves, which never changes, which never grows older, but remains forever, icy and silent.”― Playwright Harold Pinter, 1975