Andrew Phelps, Baghdad suite

Andrew Phelps

Baghdad Suite

71 / 100, numbered and signed

Self-published, limited edition, 2008
in cooperation with the Galerie Simone Feichtner in Linz

8 color images and a text from Benjamin Glahn
Hard-bound with dust jacket, 10x8 inches, 20 pages

The definitions of place and time become diffused in a tightly edited selection of 8 large-format images depicting what we have come to recognize as a war-torn Iraq. The irritation begins when we realize that this Baghdad is possibly not in the middle east, but maybe, just maybe, east of Phoenix, Arizona.

A series of convincing facades stand in for buildings and insurgent compounds in Iraq. Andrew Phelps' deftly re-created stage sets are tellingly empty. They stand as a metaphor for the frightening lack of understanding, in America and around the world, of basic concepts in Middle Eastern culture. At a time when even our leaders appear confused about the difference between Sunni and Sh'ia, it is crucial that we grasp just how much more complex the issues are than they would have us believe. Whether or not those leaders actually understand this true depth of complexity, there can be no doubt that they are staging a play in which they have done everything – from creating the characters to forging the plot – except build the set. Andrew Phelps takes this final step for them to reveal their conceit.