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The Sad State of Saddam’s Palaces
Vast, self-indulgent halls of columned marble and extravagant chandeliers, surrounded by pools, walls, moats, and, beyond that, empty desert, suddenly look more like college dormitories. Weight sets, flags, partition walls, sofas, basketball hoops, and even posters have been imported to fill Saddam’s spatial residuum. The effect is oddly decorative, as if someone has simply moved in for a long weekend, unpacking an assortment of mundane possessions.
Of course, then you notice, in the corner of the image, a stray pair of combat boots or an abandoned barbecue or a machine gun leaned up against a marble wall partially shattered by recent bomb damage—amidst the dust of collapsed ceilings and ruined tiles—and this architecture, and the people who now go to sleep there every night, suddenly takes on a whole new, tragic narrative.
BLDG BLOG has published an interview with the photographer, Richard Mosse that contains interesting insights about what life in the palaces is like, the obligatory reference to Jeremy Bentham’s Panopitcon, and this salient political point:
“The most interesting thing about the whole endeavor for me was the very fact that the U.S. had chosen to occupy Saddam’s palaces in the first place. If you’re trying to convince a population that you have liberated them from a terrible dictator, why would you then sit in his throne?”
Read more: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/saddams-palaces-interview-with-richard.html
All photos: © Copyright Richard Mosse
Be sure to see the rest of his work on his website:
http://www.richardmosse.com/photography.php?pid=5
