After being active as photojournalists in many regions of conflict, Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin used their embed with the British army in Afghanistan in June 2008 for critical commentary about the ‘theatre of war’: With help from the soldiers, they transported a 50-metre roll of photo paper sealed in a lightproof box from London to the front line and back again. In each situation that would correspond to the classic repertoire of depiction of event-based reportage photography, they exposed 6 metres of the light-sensitive paper to the sun for 20 seconds. The resulting photograms are abstract and attempt to undermine representation and narration. More as traces than symbols, they provide room for an examination of the framework conditions and limitations of embedded journalism, the dubious role of professional eyewitnesses and the often inadequate depiction of situations of war and conflict.
Deutsch