Standard Operating Procedure: Photographs by Nubar Alexanian

These images represent Alexanian’s ongoing collaboration with director Errol Morris. He has worked on the set of four of Morris’ films, the most recent of which is Standard Operating Procedure. In the Standard Operating Procedure photographs, Alexanian examines the events at Abu Ghraib prison through the eyes of the American soldiers involved in the scandal. Aided by actors who reenacted the troubling events, Alexanian’s photographs further etch these terrifying images into the consciousness of the viewer.

Nubar Alexanian’s provocative photographs depict the moral transgressions in the Abu Ghraib prison and encourage the viewer to confront issues about institutional behavior and group psychology. The viewer is simultaneously attracted to the beauty of the imagery and repelled by what is portrayed. As the lines between reality and imagination blur, the dramatized events underscore the ambiguity of our perspectives on urgent moral issues.

This exhibition was presented courtesy of Participant Media, Los Angeles, California.