The Gallery

taken from Guantanamo: If the Lights Go Out by Edmund Clark

Walking around Brixton, I ended up in a small gallery called photofusion (17a electric lane, Brixton), where an exhibition was held around the Edmund Clark book Guantanamo: If the Lights Go Out. The displayed photographs taken from the book included the houses of former Guantanamo bay detention center detainees, the cells and spaces where they were held, the areas of the naval base in which the American guards and their families live, as well as letters sent by sympathizers to a particular captive.

There are no human subjects in the pictures. Clarks says “the portraits would be completely dehumanized [.] They wouldn’t actually say anything about the individual. Spaces are much more evocative.” The artist tried to reproduce the disorientation felt by the prisoners.

The picture I chose could have a completely other meaning in another context. It could look like a postcard in a shop, or look like a happy place for some and a random place for others. However in this particular situation, knowing what it is, and knowing about the history and the use of this place, this picture contains sadness, abuse, and torment.

reference: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/feature/1906922/guantanamo-light-goes