debated desctruction
Debated Destruction critiques the ongoing and contradicting governmental claims related to open burn pits. The book combines my personal photos, VHA Directive 317, and the Department of Defense (DoD) Periodic Occupational Environmental Monitoring Summary (POEMS). As a U.S. Army veteran who was exposed to burn pits, the issue of toxic exposure is important to me and shouldn’t be disregarded. My intention in this project was to educate the viewer about the issue of toxic exposure. The viewer is presented with a lot of information at once, and it is presented in an intentionally chaotic manner to reflect the convoluted nature of this issue.
I chose to use photographs from my service to highlight my connection to this issue. The photographs were printed and then burned to emphasize the toxicity and damage at the root of this issue. They were then re-photographed and overlayed and intersected with the VHA directive and the DoD POEMS. VHA Directive 317 was issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs and establishes the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, a survey servicemembers can opt to complete to document their exposure. It also sets up provisions for healtcare for veterans that currently experience symptoms or will experience symptoms in the future. The DoD POEMS outlines the hazards experienced in the deployed environment -- in this book, three bases across Iraq and Kuwait. Both of these documents confirm and deny the existence and long-term side effects of burn pits simultaneously.