Untitled #13 (AHSF)

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Untitled #13 (AHSF) is an image based on an original photograph taken by a soldier at Abu Ghraib, a prison complex located in Iraq, close to Baghdad. In 2003 the Associated Press reported shocking details of treatment of Abu Ghraib prisoners by American troops during the Iraq War (2003 – 2011). US soldiers had raped, beaten and humiliated prisoners, often photographing their acts. One of the most famous images shows an Abu Ghraib prisoner standing still on a narrow wooden box, with electric wires attached to his arms and genitalia. If the prisoner made any movement, he was immediately subjected to electric shocks. The AHSF in the title of this artwork stands for Abdou Hussain Saad Faleh, the name of the hooded figure in the original photograph. The figure on the side is most likely the soldier at the center of the abuse investigations, Spec. Charles A. Graner Jr., a member of the 372nd Military Police Company. By removing the tortured prisoner and leaving the wooden box and American torturer, Azzarella is questioning the importance of absence, the memory of the viewer and the relevance of empty space.

Keywords

Digital
Prisoners
Photography
Criminal
Violence
Military personnel
Captive