Edmund Clark
Camp I — Isolation Unit (2009)
Edmund Clark: "Guantanamo: If The Light Goes Out”
Flowers Gallery
529 West 20th Street, 3E, 212-439-1700
Chelsea
November 30, 2012 - January 12, 2013
Reception: Thursday, November 29, 6 - 8 PM
Web Site
Flowers is pleased to present a selection of photographs from
Edmund Clark’s "Guantanamo: If The Light Goes Out.” Clark pairs his
images with a collection of correspondence titled Letters to Omar and a
multimedia installation. Together these visuals confront the assumptions
and stereotypes about the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
Edmund Clark is known for his work exploring incarceration through
the use of photography, found imagery, and text. In "Guantanamo: If The
Light Goes Out” (2010), he examines three ideas of home: The naval base
that is home to the American community at Guantanamo; the complex of
camps where the detainees have been held, and the homes, new and old,
where former detainees now find themselves trying to rebuild their
lives. His disorientating narrative evokes the psychological
after-effects on these men.
Clark’s quiet and restrained style melds documentary and fine art
imagery. His photographs are absent of people, speaking to the
identities that have been stripped away. At Guantanamo he had to switch
from his 5×4 inch film camera to medium-format digital equipment, so
that his photographs could be censored by security personnel at the end
of each day. His meticulous imagery narrates the experience and
contradictions of Guantanamo—where 167 prisoners are still held.
Edmund Clark was a finalist in this year’s Prix Pictet and was
awarded the 2011 Royal Photographic Society Hood Medal. Other awards
include the 2009 British Journal of Photography International Award and
several book awards for "Guantanamo: If The Light Goes Out”, a 2008
Terry O’Neill/IPG Award for Contemporary
British Photography for "Still Life Killing Time” (2007), and a Gold
Pencil at the 2003 One Show Awards in New York. He was an
Artist-in-Residence for the National Trust in England and his work is
included in national and international collections including The
National Portrait Gallery and Imperial War Museum in London, the George
Eastman House Museum, Rochester, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.
For further information please contact Tessa Maffucci on 212 439 1700 or email tessa@flowersgallery.com
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