Paperback, colour and black and white illustrations, 300 pages, W185mm x H220mm
Since the atrocity of September
11 2001, Osama bin Laden has attained a quasi-mythical status. Is he
the evil mastermind of a global terror network, a media-savvy holy
warrior, or simply a devil of our own creation? What kind of world
gives rise to such a figure?
In October 2002 Ben Langlands and Nikki
Bell spent two weeks in Afghanistan as war artists researching the
aftermath of September 11 and the war in Afghanistan for the Imperial
War Museum in London. They visited a diverse range of locations,
including Bagram, the main American air base, where General Franks was
on a flying visit to see his troops; Bamyan, the site of the giant
Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban; the Supreme Court in Kabul, where
they attended and filmed the first capital trial since the fall of the
Taliban and, after a long and difficult journey, the former home of
Osama bin Laden at Daruntah.
This book illustrates and documents the
artists' journey to Afghanistan by means of their own photographs and
diary entries, interspersed with the artworks made on their return to
England, which have won them the BAFTA award for Interactive Arts
Installation and a nomination for the 2004 Turner Prize.