Contraband By Taryn Simon

Nonfiction was a series of portraits and documentary images made in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Indonesia, Cuba, and the United States.
An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (2007)
For this project, artist Taryn Simon assumes the dual role of shrewd informant and collector of curiosities, compiling an inventory of what lies hidden and out-of-view within the borders of the United States. She examines a culture through careful documentation of diverse subjects from the realms of science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature, security, and religion. Transforming the unknown into a seductive and intelligible form, Simon confronts the divide between those with and without the privilege of access.