Kill house

Kill House comprises twelve large-scale photos taken in the USA. They depict spaces used by private military companies to train personnel prior to working in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Kill House sought to provide a visual metaphor for the increasing phenomenon of the privatisation of war. Gaining access required a long process of sensitive negotiation and justification of the research, one reason why the subject matter is rarely explored. This research resonates with projects like, Red land, Blue Land, by Claudio Hils, and the recent, Chicago, by Chanarin and Broomberg. By contrast, Stewart uniquely analyses the inner workings of companies not intrinsically wedded to any state military body and which represent a developing global free market within an infrastructure of conflict. Kill House was exhibited in Theatres of War, in the disused Schindler factory in Krakow. It was curated by Mark Power (Magnum Photos VP) and was the centrepiece of Photomonth in Krakow (2007). The other exhibitors included Luc Delahaye, Donovan Wylie, and Geert van Kesteren. Photomonth exhibitors also included August Sander, Martin Parr and Bernd and Hiller Becher. The full-colour catalogue included an essay by Power. It was reviewed by Peter Conrad in The Observer on 15 July 2007. The work was also shown at the public Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool and at Gimpel Fils, London (Gimpel Fils represents Stewart) and resulted in a half page review by Martin Herbert, Artforum October 2006 and a two page review by John Donaldson, Source Photographic Review Issue 46.