http://www.americansuburbx.com/2013/02/sophie-ristelhueber-facts-of-matter-2011.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americansuburb+%28ASX+%7C+AMERICAN+SUBURB+X+%7C+Photography+%26+Culture%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
The pictures in this post were taken several months after the war in Kuwait. The land has been left scarred and bruised, as have several of the people photographed. Among other things, this body of work eliminates the false dichotomy between people and the environment they live in, because we find that where the land has been abused and damaged, the social landscape is often in turmoil. The pictures of scarred bodies of people were taken in a Paris hospital, but the fact that they are presented together creates the link between scars on land and scars on people.
The first picture shown is a close up of a large hole blown into a road, which is a basic level of infrastructure. Roads and other forms of transportation are like the circulatory system of the built environment, so the fact that this one has not been fixed for months shows that political and economic repair cells have not been mobilized to heal the body yet. Perhaps the country is still in turmoil, dealing with other more pressing matters, or still recovering from a traumatic experience. Just like when the human body is damaged, the quicker it's primary systems are in working condition again, the sooner it can get back on its feet.
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