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Anna Burns and Michael Bodiam’s “Silent But Violent” Photo Series

While it's been a long time since most Western countries have experienced a war on their own soil, our mass media is rife with gory imagery that often fetishizes death and destruction. This idea was the starting point for creative director Anna Burns' and photographer Michael Bodiam's series, "Silent But Violent." For the body of work, Burns fashioned mushroom clouds of out benign, household items such as balloons, watermelon, and bouquets — even the embroidery on a quilt. Shot in domestic interiors, the miniature mushroom clouds speak to our desensitized consumption of violent content.

While it’s been a long time since most Western countries have experienced a war on their own soil, our mass media is rife with gory imagery that often fetishizes death and destruction. This idea was the starting point for creative director Anna Burns’ and photographer Michael Bodiam’s series, “Silent But Violent.” For the body of work, Burns fashioned mushroom clouds of out benign, household items such as balloons, watermelon, and bouquets — even the embroidery on a quilt. Shot in domestic interiors, the miniature mushroom clouds speak to our desensitized consumption of violent content.

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