Mothers and Sons, by Israeli artist Andi Arnovitz who explores woman's role during wartime. Her work is featured at the United States Library of Congress, Yale University and the Yeshiva Museum in NYC. [Photo by He Keyao/chinadaily.com.cn]

A multimedia exhibition highlighting war crimes, genocide and rape has opened in Beijing’s 798 district where 35 artworks from more than 10 countries are on display, creating a thought provoking display.

"It is not about sexual abuse, it is about destruction," said Fion Gunn, an Irish artist and a curator of the exhibition. "It is a universal issue and we want people to confront it so that we can prevent it from happening again".

Comfort women of World War II are among the focus and artists from mainland China and Taiwan, Korea, Northern Ireland, the US and other countries explore the theme with varied perspectives. For example, Chinese artist Pan Yiqun's sculpture Young Comfort Woman vividly shows the innocence and vulnerability of the female during the war; artist Gao Yuan's piece Say Sorry, I'll Forgive You questions Japan’s attitude toward war issues.