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Edmund Clark
Guantanamo. If the light goes out
HC, 25,5 x 32 cm., 192 pp. 67 col. plates
Dewi Lewis 2010

"Images (...) from three places associated with the prison camps at Guantanamo Bay - Rather than documents to monumentalize the historical fact of the camps, these images illustrate three experiences of home: the naval base at Guantanamo which is home to the American community and of which the prison camps are just a part; the complex of camps where the detainees have been held; and the homes, new and old, where the former detainees now find themselves trying to rebuild their lives. (...)

The narrative is confused and unsettled as the viewer is asked to jump from prison camp detail to domestic still life to naval base and back again.

This disjointed edit is intended to evoke the disorientation of the process of incarceration and interrogation at Guantanamo and to explore the legacy of disturbance such an experience has in the minds and memories of these men.

Still life imagery of personal space and possessions follows a long tradition of symbolism and metaphor. My work draws on the ?Vanitas? style of 17th century Dutch painting in which objects like hourglasses, candles, skulls and flowers symbolized the passage of time and the transience of human existence." (Clark)

An interview with Edmund Clark: http://www.spoonfed.co.uk/spooners/loredana-12243/guantanamo-if-the-light-goes-out-an-interview-with-edmund-clark-3833/

 


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