Scenes from hell new versions

The Iraq affair started as a minor adventure, a side-show on the world stage. But thanks to the talents of its director, George Bush Jr, thi...

The Iraq affair started as a minor adventure, a side-show on the world stage. But thanks to the talents of its director, George Bush Jr, this little stage production has rapidly taken on apocalyptic overtones. The recent pictures of Iraqi prisoners of peace being tortured by their coalition captors have produced some startling examples of the aesthetic of Terror, and raised the Iraq affair to the level of unforgettable visual experience. The 20th Century has produced some haunting images of suffering and death which, once viewed, will be indelibly etched upon your mind. From the Nazi concentration camps, one may recall the image of a room full of nothing but used spectacles, whose wearers have long gone to the gas chamber. Or one may think of a picture from the reign of Pol Pot, a picture of neatly arranged rows of human skulls. One may remember the picture of children and peasants running in panic from a napalm raid in Vietnam.

These are enduring images from the 20th Century8217;s Hall of Infamy. And already in 2004 the 21st Century has thrown up images to rival them. The prize picture from the hell that is present day Iraq is, in my opinion, the picture of a victim of torture standing against the background of a bare canvas. The victim man? woman? is standing on a box, which is narrow and vertical, with just enough space for the victim to plant his feet on. The victim is draped in a black, poncho-like garment. And then the crowning stroke: A cone-shaped hood covering upon the victim8217;s head. The anonymous figure has a mysterious look, reminding you of the Dance of Death spectacles from medieval Europe. Both hands of the victim, emerging from beneath the cloak, are outstretched, with palms open in the camera8217;s direction. This suggests a parallel with the figure of the Christ on the Cross. The suggestion raises the picture to the level of an emblematic representation of timeless human suffering. There is more: From the open palms of the Christ-figure hang thin electrical wires. At one stroke, this makes the picture strikingly 8216;modern8217;.

The more you look, the more details will register upon your mind. The victim8217;s legs, for instance. Only partially exposed below the cloak, they do not seem to be standing quite upright. Slightly bent and meeting at the ankle, they give you the impression of a delicately dancing figure. An exquisitely incongruous touch. This wraith-like, ethereal figure will haunt the minds of viewers for a long time.

Shuffle the pack of photographs from the 20th century pits of hell. You will agree that this image, obscurely emerging from a nondescript place called Abu Ghraib in early 2004, easily surpasses them in evocative power. It would seem inconceivable that a more distilled, iconic representation of human misery could be found in the news images of the future. But then, who knows what mind-numbing images of such 8216;terrible beauty8217; the 21st century has in store for us?