The US was thrown into a frenzy after the attacks of 11 September, with nationalistic fervour rising to a fever pitch out of nationwide solidarity for the tragedy. From Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan and the CIA鈥檚 secret prison programme, there exists a multitude of secrecies and ideologies in denial around these controversial topics, ones that have fundamentally altered aspects of today鈥檚 society and culture.
Responding to this reactionary behaviour, the International Center of Photography (ICP) presents The Day the Music Died, British photographer Edmund Clark鈥檚 first solo museum exhibition in the US. The body of work 鈥 over a decade in the making 鈥 investigates America鈥檚 response to international terrorism, and the violent means used to prevent it. Clark exposes how terrorist acts change societal attitudes, inciting disorientation and aggression amongst the common populace for lack of clear answers from governmental institutions.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 lives have been hugely affected by the War on Terror,鈥 says Clark. 鈥淲e are all living with enormous ramifications with what鈥檚 going on. The work isn鈥檛 about the individual cases; it鈥檚 about the ordinariness of the process and the extraordinariness of the situation. It also concerns looking for new ways for photography and the arts to engage audiences with the unseen and quickly evolving nature of contemporary conflict and the representation of its narratives.鈥
Thematically, The Day the Music Died is line with Clark鈥檚 previous work, which was the focus of major solo exhibitions like War on Terror at the Imperial War Museum, London, and Terror Incognitus at Zephyr Raum f眉r Fotografie, Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Manheim, Germany. His photography explores connections between history, politics and representation. Bringing together over 100 images and films documenting untold experiences of contemporary conflict, the show offers a meditative exploration of the ethics and legality of resorting to extreme methods for the sake of national security.
Edmund Clark: The Day the Music Died is at the International Center of Photography, New York, from 26 January. Learn more:.
Credits:
1.聽聽Edmund Clark, Camp 1, isolation unit, from the series Guantanamo: If the Light Goes Out, 2009. 漏 Edmund Clark.
