Photos of Children Reenacting Tragedies

Canadian photographer Jonathan Hobin convinced the parents of some very cute kids to allow him to photograph their children reenacting scenes from real-life tragedies, including the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, the Abu Ghraib prison torture, and Hurricane Katrina.

“In the Playroom” is described as “a metaphor for the impossibility of a protective space safe from the reach of modern media. The quizzical disposition of youth and the pervasive nature of the media are symbolically represented in my images through tableau-vivant re-enactments of the very current events that adults might wish to keep out of their child’s world. Just as children make a game of pretending to be adults as a way to prepare and ultimately take on these roles in later life, so too do they explore things that they hear or see, whether or not they completely understand the magnitude of the event or the implications of their play.”

I thought a couple of the photos were harmless—the three children reenacting Hurricane Katrina look as if they’re about to go for a swim in the family’s pool and the girl with Kool-Aid and dolls scattered around sort of looks like she has a messy playroom—but others made me very uncomfortable. A little girl posed as JonBenét Ramsey, holding pantyhose around her neck and panties at her feet made me cringe. A very pale, blond boy as the American firefighter and an olive-toned boy with dark hair posed as the terrorist holds a plane above one of the towers, this classic good vs. evil using dark vs. light rubbed me the wrong way.

But sometimes art makes us uncomfortable, right?

If you’d like to check out Hobin’s controversial photo set, click here. (via Flavorwire)