In the Shadow of the Burning Dog
I am part of a wartime generation. The minority of my peers chose to participate in the war: most remained home. As one who chose to stay I am interested in the people who left. They have experienced the brutality of war and I have not. In this body of work I have embedded myself in the aftermath of their homecoming. What is it like to driven past banners on the highway, to have dreams of their service and learn to be a civilian again? In Even Wright’s book Generation Kill an older Marine said “Don’t pet a burning dog.” I have appropriated this burning dog as a symbol for war. All soldiers have seen, touched or felt it. They have lived in its shadow since their service. By photographing these veterans in their domestic spaces I am investigating their re-assimilation into their previous lives and society.