Taryn Simon

PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXTS

TARYN SIMON Larry Mayes Scene of arrest, The Royal Inn, Gary, Indiana, Police found Mayes hiding beneath a mattress in this room, Served 18.5 years of an 80-year sentence for Rape, Robbery and Unlawful Deviate Conduct, 2002 Chromogenic print 48 x 62 in. © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

TARYN SIMON Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation, Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State, 2005/2007 Chromogenic print 37 ¼ x 44 ½ in. 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. © 2007 Taryn Simon / Courtesy Steidl / Gagosian

TARYN SIMON Cryopreservation Unit, Cryonics Institute, Clinton Township, Michigan, 2004/2007 Chromogenic print 37 ¼ x 44 ½ in. © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery This cryopreservation unit holds the bodies of Rhea and Elaine Ettinger, the mother and first wife of cryonics pioneer, Robert Ettinger. Robert, author of The Prospect of Immortality and Man into Superman is still alive. The Cryonics Institute offers cryostasis (freezing) services for individuals and pets upon death. Cryostasis is practiced with the hope that lives will ultimately be extended through future developments in science, technology, and medicine. When, and if, these developments occur, Institute members hope to awake to an extended life in good health, free from disease or the aging process. Cryostasis must begin immediately upon legal death. A person or pet is infused with ice-preventive substances and quickly cooled to a temperature where physical decay virtually stops. The Cryonics Institute charges $28,000 for cryostasis if it is planned well in advance of legal death and $35,000 on shorter notice. © 2007 Taryn Simon / Courtesy Steidl / Gagosian

TARYN SIMON White Tiger (Kenny), Selective Inbreeding, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge and Foundation, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 2006/2007 Chromogenic print 37 ¼ x 44 ½ in. © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery In the United States, all living white tigers are the result of selective inbreeding to artificially create the genetic conditions that lead to white fur, ice-blue eyes and a pink nose. Kenny was born to a breeder in Bentonville, Arkansas on February 3, 1999. As a result of inbreeding, Kenny is mentally retarded and has significant physical limitations. Due to his deep-set nose, he has difficulty breathing and closing his jaw, his teeth are severely malformed and he limps from abnormal bone structure in his forearms. The three other tigers in Kenny’s litter are not considered to be quality white tigers as they are yellow-coated, cross-eyed, and knock-kneed. © 2007 Taryn Simon / Courtesy Steidl / Gagosian

TARYN SIMON NESTING DOLLS (COUNTERFEIT), 2010 5 archival inkjet prints in Plexiglas box Box: 9 ¼ x 37 ¼ x 2 ½ in. Each image: 6 ¼ inches squared © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

TARYN SIMON CIGARETTES & TOBACCO (ABANDONED/ILLEGAL/PROHIBITED), 2010 25 archival inkjet prints in 5 Plexiglas boxes Each box: 9 ¼ x 37 ¼ x 2 ½ in. Each image: 6 ¼ inches squared © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

TARYN SIMON OCA (PROHIBITED), 2010 9 archival inkjet prints in Plexiglas box Box: 9 ¼ x 8 ¼ x 2 ½ in. Each image: 6 ¼ inches squared © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

TARYN SIMON PISTOLS (UNLICENSED), 2010 2 archival inkjet prints in Plexiglas box Box: 9 ¼ x 15 ½ x 2 ½ in. Each image: 6 ¼ inches squared © Taryn Simon. Courtesy Gagosian Gallery