The Snow Leopard, Steve Mumford's exhibition at Postmasters came from a commission by Harpers Magazine to go to Guantanamo. According to the press release He made two trips in February and May 2013. Current issue of Harper's includes a portfolio of his drawings along with Lawrence Douglas' cover story A Kangaroo in Obama's Court.
Ken Johnson wrote in his NYTimes review
Ken Johnson wrote in his NYTimes review
But you don’t see any prisoners. Despite pretrip assurances to the contrary, Mr. Mumford was not allowed to see them. Their invisibility gives the series a haunted feeling. Looking at a watercolor of a chair used for force-feeding hunger strikers, you can only imagine a man undergoing treatment. Certain parts of the prison were designated off limits for drawing, too. In the picture of a tall, chain-link fence, Mr. Mumford drew vertical lines, arrows and words on either side indicating what, for unknown reasons, he was forbidden from drawing. This gives the series a feeling of paranoid urgency, as if Mr. Mumford were a spy.
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| Steve Mumford 2/6/13, NM CB 2-7 Sailors, Nightfall Camp Justice. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2013, ink and wash on paper, 13.75 x 18 inches |
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| Steve Mumford 2/7/13, Tour of Camp 6 - Rec area for detainees, Joint Task Force, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2013, ink and wash on paper, 13.75 x 18 inches |
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| Steve Mumford 5/16/13 Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2013, ink and wash on paper, 13.75 x 18.25 inches |
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| Steve Mumford 5/15/13, No detainees here. I'm not allowed to see them, Communal Pod, Cell Block Delta Camp 6, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2013, ink and wash on paper, 18 x 13.75 inches |
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| Steve Mumford 5/16/13, Restraining chair for force feeding, Detainee hospital, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba 2013, ink and wash on paper, 13.75 x 18 inches |