The Innocents by Taryn Simon. Second edition (2003). Large format hardback in fine condition. Flat signed by Taryn Simon to title page. No markings. Pages clean, binding firm. The dust jacket has some very minor shelf wear, now in removable protective sleeve. Please see pictures. PayPal accepted, any questions please get in touch.
About The Innocents
Taryn Simon’s earliest body of work, The Innocents (2002), documents the stories of individuals who served time in prison for violent crimes they did not commit. Above all, the series centres on the question of photography as credible witness and arbiter of justice, since the primary cause of wrongful conviction is mistaken identification. Suspected perpetrators are identified through photographs and lineups. In other words, a procedure that relies on the assumption of precise visual memory. But, through exposure to composite sketches, mug shots, Polaroids, and lineups, eyewitness memory can change. In these cases, photography offered the criminal justice system a tool that transformed innocent citizens into criminals. So, Simon photographed these men at sites that had particular significance to their illegitimate conviction. For instance, the scene of misidentification, the scene of arrest, the scene of the crime, or the scene of the alibi. The Innocents was first exhibited at MoMA PS1 in 2003.
