Exploring issues of security in a time of terror, Sarah Pickering’s new monograph Explosions, Fires, and Public Order goes behind the scenes at training sites for British government forces.
Pickering’s striking photographs of fake bombs for war training, controlled fires for crime-scene investigators, charred interiors for firefighting preparation, and fabricated towns for plotting police and military battles document realistic situations in a carefully staged environment.
Visit Sarah Pickering’s website, read an interview with the artist, catch her survey show at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and buy a copy of the book
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Click through to view a selection of Pickering’s work, including images excerpted from the book.
Sarah Pickering, River Way (Road Block), 2004 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Fuel Air Explosion, 2005
Sarah Pickering, Behind Flicks Nightclub, 2004 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Ship's Galley, 2008. © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Glue Sniffing Kids, 2007 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Makeshift Cooking, 2007 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, High Street, 2002 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Abduction, 2007 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Phone Box, Eastcourt Street, 2004 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Smoke Burst, 2004 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture
Sarah Pickering, Bedroom, 2008 © Sarah Pickering, excerpted from the book Explosions, Fires, and Public Order, published by Aperture