20/20 A Retrospective of Two Decades at War

Henry Becker
2023

On August 30, 2021 the final U.S. service members in Afghanistan took off from Kabul International Airport, marking the end of two decades of American presence in the Middle East. 20/20 explores the events, policies, laws, and cultural movements of the era, calling into question the validity and ramifications of America’s longest war.

Expressed across 20 posters reflecting 20 years of occupation, the project follows a loose chronology of American involvement in the Middle East using archival photography and mixed media. From the attacks on 9/11 to the eventual reemergence and return to power of the Taliban, we can begin to examine how actions both at the highest levels of government and in our own backyards have changed the way we live, how we see and interact with one another as people and cultures, and ultimately the fundamental impacts to what it means to be an American.

Becker
Henry
Tomas
Kevin