BEN BRODY
300m
Friday, July 7 - Sunday, August 13, 2023
Opening reception: Friday, July 7, 6 - 8:30pm
Installation view
BEN BRODY, Lakokhel Poppies, Lakokhel, Afghanistan, 2011
Image 13 x 97 inches | sheet 17 x 104 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 3
BEN BRODY (American, b. 1979)
Ben Brody is an independent photographer, educator, and picture editor working on long-form projects related to the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their aftermath. Starting in 2003, Ben was a soldier assigned to make visual propaganda during the Iraq War, and after leaving the Army in 2008, worked as a photojournalist in Afghanistan until 2016.
His first book, Attention Servicemember, was shortlisted for the 2019 Aperture - Paris Photo First Book Award and is now in its second edition. His latest title, 300m, is a panoramic journey through the height of the American war in Afghanistan, framed in the context of the fall of Kabul and the ties that remain with friends and colleagues who currently live under Taliban rule.
Ben holds an MFA from Hartford Art School's International Low-Residency Photography program. He is the Director of Photography for The GroundTruth Project and Report for America, and a co-founder of Mass Books. He resides in western Massachusetts.
Installation view
BEN BRODY, Kandahar Poppy Harvest (detail), Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2011
Image 15 x 32 inches | sheet 17 x 38 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 5
BEN BRODY, Kandahar (Sky), Afghanistan, 2011
Image 98 x 13 iinches | sheet 106 x 17 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 5
“I would sometimes bring a toy camera to Afghanistan as an icebreaker. With a sharp motion like pulling a grenade pin, I’d yank a cord out of the camera, release it, and let the camera spin a bit more than 360 degrees, pulling seven inches of 35mm film past the shutter. One time a soldier thought I was detonating a grenade and dove into the dust as the camera spun around him.
It’s hard to keep yourself out of the picture.
The panoramics weren’t made for any clear purpose, so I developed them sloppily and lots of little air bubbles got trapped against the film. Lots of bright little holes through the people and through the sky. Streaks of light peeking through the cheap plastic camera blowing people out indiscriminately. It was just a toy.
The camera spun around. The fighting season, the winter, then the rain, then the fighting season. The 3rd Infantry Division, then the 4th Infantry Division, then the 3rd again. The war was never meant to end.”
Installation view
BEN BRODY, Mudad Poppies, Mudad, Afghanistan, 2011
Image 13 x 79 inches | sheet 17 x 87 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 3
Installation view
Installation view
BEN BRODY, Combat Outpost, Hutal, Afghanistan, 2011
Image 13 x 74 inches | sheet 17 x 77 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 3
Installation view
From a Whatsapp chat between an Afghan interpreter and Brody and other Americans during the 2021 evacuation of Afghanistan at Kabul Airport.
Installation view
BEN BRODY, Kandahar (Earth), Afghanistan, 2011
Image 98 x 13 iinches | sheet 106 x 17 inches
Archival pigment print on washi
Edition of 5