Larry Towell: Afghanistan

by Larry Towell (Photographer)

For 30 years, Afghanistan has known only war. In this volume, renowned Magnum photographer Larry Towell presents a moving and in-depth look at the country, whose citizens and landscapes are affected by conflict on a daily basis. Towell, a veteran conflict reporter, has worked in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mexico, Palestine and Israel, as well as Afghanistan. This work, shot between 2008 and 2011, offers a tour de force examination of survival, exile, loss and recuperation. Towell shows the war from a variety of perspectives--from military camps to domestic interiors--and offers depictions of US and British soldiers, landmine victims, ordinary Afghan citizens, cityscapes and weaponry, as well as a rare series of Taliban portraits. This volume presents a facsimile of the photographer's original artist maquette, complete with his handwritten notes and stories and over 350 images, including collages. A true art object, this book conveys the complexity of the conflict, which has roots that go deep into historical and tribal grievances. Beautifully produced in a limited edition, this extraordinary object offers an important historical document on present-day Afghanistan seen through its social, political and environmental landscapes.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published July 31, 2014