Simon Norfolk
‘The Museum Of The Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologising their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and ownership of Afghanistan’s modern warlord economy.

‘The Museum Of The Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologising their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and ownership of Afghanistan’s modern warlord economy.

© Simon Norfolk / Gallery Luisotti

‘The Museum Of The Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologising their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and ownership of Afghanistan’s modern warlord economy.
‘The Museum Of The Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologising their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and ownership of Afghanistan’s modern warlord economy.
ArtistBritish, born Nigeria, 1963
CultureBritish
Titles
  • ‘The Museum Of The Jihad’ in Herat. In the centre of the tableau of anti-Soviet mujahedeen guerrillas is Ismail Khan, one-time Governor of Herat and minister in the national government. Mythologising their role in the Jihad helps justify their control and ownership of Afghanistan’s modern warlord economy.
  • from the portfolio Burke + Norfolk: Photographs from the War in Afghanistan
Date2010–2011, printed September 2011
Place depictedHerat, Afghanistan
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 14 3/8 × 19 1/8 in. (36.5 × 48.6 cm)
 Sheet: 15 × 20 in. (38.1 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Morris Weiner
Object number2016.224.12
Non exposé

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
ProvenanceThe artist; [Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, California]; purchased by Morris Weiner, Houston, 2012; given to MFAH, 2016.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Stamped in black ink, verso, lower right: Burke + Norfolk // Photographs from the war in Afghanistan // by John Burke and Simon Norfolk // Printed by Simon Norfolk, September 2011 // An archival, digital, chromogenic print on Fujicolor Crystal Archive // Photograph by Simon Norfolk [signed in pencil over a stamped underline] // One of 104 prints in a Burke + Norfolk portfolio special edition // Edition number 1 of eight [1 is handwritten in pencil over a stamped underline]
Norfolk prints are signed and numbered on verso lower right, within artist's stamp

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

‘The Museum of the Jihad’, Herat. A diorama illustrating the city rising up against the Soviets.
Simon Norfolk
‘The Museum of the Jihad’, Herat. A diorama illustrating the city rising up against the Soviets.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.96
Radio Afghanistan’s new transmitters paid for by American money; broadcasting official government news and anti-Taliban security alerts.
Simon Norfolk
Radio Afghanistan’s new transmitters paid for by American money; broadcasting official government news and anti-Taliban security alerts.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.39
Internet café, Herat.
Simon Norfolk
Internet café, Herat.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.28
A security guard’s booth at the newly restored Ikhtyaruddin citadel, Herat.
Simon Norfolk
A security guard’s booth at the newly restored Ikhtyaruddin citadel, Herat.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.29
Pakistani ‘jingle trucks’ end their long journey up from Karachi at the gates of Kandahar Airfield where they wait to be scanned, X-rayed and searched. Only people, ammunition and emergency requirements come by aircraft. Warlord-owned security companies protecting convoys can charge $15,000 per truck, but a large part of the fee is paid to Taliban protection rackets.
Simon Norfolk
Pakistani ‘jingle trucks’ end their long journey up from Karachi at the gates of Kandahar Airfield where they wait to be scanned, X-rayed and searched. Only people, ammunition and emergency requirements come by aircraft. Warlord-owned security companies protecting convoys can charge $15,000 per truck, but a large part of the fee is paid to Taliban protection rackets.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.77
Mahomed Tahir Khan, Aslam Khan &c of Ghazni.
John Burke
Mahomed Tahir Khan, Aslam Khan &c of Ghazni.
1878–1880, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.67
The Amir Shere Ali Khan.
John Burke
The Amir Shere Ali Khan.
1869, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.50
Khan of Lalpura and Followers with Political Officer.
John Burke
Khan of Lalpura and Followers with Political Officer.
1878, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.66
The Amir Yakub Khan, General Daod Shah, Habeebula Moustafi with Major Cavagnari C.S.I and Mr Jenkyns.
John Burke
The Amir Yakub Khan, General Daod Shah, Habeebula Moustafi with Major Cavagnari C.S.I and Mr Jenkyns.
1879, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.72
The districts of Wazir Akbar Khan and Sherpur, home to all the NGOs and contractors, occupy the site of the former British fortress from the Second Anglo-Afghan War, ‘the Cantonment’. Glitzy, kitschy ‘poppy-palaces’, flung up in a hectic property boom after the land was illegally re-possessed from squatters, can command rents of $20,000 per week when leased out to Internationals.
Simon Norfolk
The districts of Wazir Akbar Khan and Sherpur, home to all the NGOs and contractors, occupy the site of the former British fortress from the Second Anglo-Afghan War, ‘the Cantonment’. Glitzy, kitschy ‘poppy-palaces’, flung up in a hectic property boom after the land was illegally re-possessed from squatters, can command rents of $20,000 per week when leased out to Internationals.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.22
The swimming pool that crowns Tepe Wazir Akbar Khan, built by the Soviets in the 1970s and restored in recent times at great expense by USAID. It is uncertain if it will ever be used.
Simon Norfolk
The swimming pool that crowns Tepe Wazir Akbar Khan, built by the Soviets in the 1970s and restored in recent times at great expense by USAID. It is uncertain if it will ever be used.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.20
Panorama Of The City Of Cabul & Surroundings. Taken from Bala Buhj. Shepur in the Distance.
John Burke
Panorama Of The City Of Cabul & Surroundings. Taken from Bala Buhj. Shepur in the Distance.
1878–1880, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.47