margot herster

such a great project by margot herster titled guantánamo: pictures from home. it's her attempt to materialize the presence of the detainees whose highly controversial capture by the u.s. government is so shrouded in secrecy. margot has collected snapshots taken by attorneys from five major law firms which represent 45 detainees from afghanistan, bahrain, kuwait, saudi arabia, and yemen, on trips to their clients’ home countries to visit their families. as she explains: "legal scholars have called guantánamo the most important civil liberties case in half a century. since 2002, the united states has detained over 700 men, holding them virtually incommunicado after their post-9/11 capture. the administration labeled the detainees “the worst of the worst,” but officials and outside analysts have questioned the accusations against them. ...while courts, attorneys, politicians, and human rights groups deliberate over living conditions, interrogation tactics, and the prison’s fundamental legality, those directly affected by these policies remain hidden." this work is currently on view in both nyc and santa cruz. and you can see more from this project here.

[all margot herster/unknown photographers. from the series guantánamo: pictures from home. top to bottom: detainee: fahmi al tawlaqi. home country: yemen. represented by: allen + overy. fahmi's living room. detainee: adel al nussairi. home country: saudi arabia. represented by: weil gotshal + manges. attorney anant raut (right) with adel's cousin (middle) and a friend at a hotel in bahrain. detainee: abdullah al anazi. home country: saudi arabia. represented by: weil gotshal + manges. abdullah's favorite landscapes and drawings by his nieces and nephews. detainee: abdulkhaleq al baidhani. home country: yemen. represented by: allen + overy. lunch served to attorneys by abduklhaleq's family.]