Photographs You Never Saw

“Photographs You Never Saw” was produced in reaction to a policy the George H.W. Bush administration put in place in 1991 banning the media from photographing flag draped coffins of American soldiers returning home from war.  The ban was upheld through the presidential terms of both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  The photographic ban was said to be in place to protect the privacy of the deceased’s family members, an ironic excuse given the flag draped coffins strip the soldier of his or her individual identity.  In 2009 president Barack Obama modified the ban by allowing families to decide whether to allow photographs and TV footage of the flag draped coffins of their deceased loved ones.  From February 1991 – February 2009, approximately 4,912 flag draped coffins returned to America.  “Photographs You Never Saw” is made up of thousands of stacked images.  The piece is installed at a height which prevents the viewer from seeing the image; however, the top image of the stack is within reach.  The viewer is placed in a peculiar predicament of choosing to respect the fragile stacked form or to risk toppling the column for a chance to see the “Photographs You Never Saw”.