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Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar

18 Jun 2010 – 05 Sep 2010

Taryn Simon Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation, Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State 2005–7. Chromogenic colour print. © 2007 Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery/Steidl

Submerged in a pool of water at Hanford Site are 1,936 stainless-steel nuclear-waste capsules containing cesium and strontium. Combined, they contain over 120 million curies of radioactivity. It is estimated to be the most curies under one roof in the United States. The blue glow is created by the Cherenkov Effect which describes the electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle, giving off energy, moves faster than light through a transparent medium. The temperatures of the capsules are as high as 330 degrees Fahrenheit. The pool of water serves as a shield against radiation; a human standing one foot from an unshielded capsule would receive a lethal dose of radiation in less than 10 seconds. Hanford is among the most contaminated sites in the United States.

About this Exhibition

Inspired by rumours of weapons of mass destruction and secret sites in Iraq, Taryn Simon decided to address secret sites in her own country.

For An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (2006), she photographed hidden places and things within America's borders.

Ranging across science, government, entertainment, and religion, they include an underwater nuclear-waste storage facility, a Braille edition of Playboy, and a Scientology screening room.

Shot over four years, mostly with a large-format view camera, the images are sometimes ethereal, sometimes foreboding, sometimes cinematic. Taryn Simon uses things usually hidden from view to create a vivid portrayal of the contemporary USA.