- Venue
- Photographers Gallery
- Location
- London
Index of the unfamiliar? A checklist of photos from Taryn Simon's exhibition at the Photographers Gallery reads like a A-Z of iconic American cultural symbols: death row, plastic surgery, satellite news, playboy, great white shark, such variety packed together make it abundantly clear that here is a body of work dealing directly with the American identity. Familiarity also indicates how much we too are involved in this truly globalized culture; so images work best then when they surprise us with unexpected views of what we thought we knew.
The sense of wonder that each of these large format images produces is also familiar. Simon's exhibition belongs to the tradition of photographer as explorer bringing back exotic evidence. For 19th century photographers the exotic resided in Africa, Asia or the American wilderness, today it lies behind barbed fences or inside swipe card facilities.
The introduction to the accompanying guide places Simon's work in the line of American activist photography. Do these images encourage activism or is one too easily absorbed into the composition and aesthetically richness? Simon's work tugs the viewer in both directions at the same time, but exploration and activism can make uneasy partners.
Undoubtedly the most impressive element is the 4 years of painstaking effort that has been put into obtaining access to these locations. Endless phone calls, meetings with bored or pedantic bureaucrats, never taking 'no' for an answer. The photographic result pushes a unexpected question about the United States. Does Taryn Simon's ability to access these locations in fact attest to a democratic accountability that despite our expectations is still healthy present in the United States? The alternative is that Simon's work enacts what Roland Barthes calls Operation Margerine: by allowing one person limited access to a few institutions and commercial enterprises the state immunizes itself against the greater need for rigorous democratic transparency.
