Simon Norfolk
Before dawn, construction workers warm themselves over burning plastic and cardboard before beginning the job of attempting to get hired for a day’s work.

Before dawn, construction workers warm themselves over burning plastic and cardboard before beginning the job of attempting to get hired for a day’s work.

© Simon Norfolk / Gallery Luisotti

Before dawn, construction workers warm themselves over burning plastic and cardboard before beginning the job of attempting to get hired for a day’s work.
Before dawn, construction workers warm themselves over burning plastic and cardboard before beginning the job of attempting to get hired for a day’s work.
ArtistBritish, born Nigeria, 1963
CultureBritish
Titles
  • Before dawn, construction workers warm themselves over burning plastic and cardboard before beginning the job of attempting to get hired for a day’s work.
  • from the portfolio Burke + Norfolk: Photographs from the War in Afghanistan
Date2010–2011, printed September 2011
Place depictedKabul, Afghanistan
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 14 3/8 × 19 3/16 in. (36.5 × 48.7 cm)
 Sheet: 15 × 20 in. (38.1 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Morris Weiner
Object number2016.224.42
Not on view

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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.

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Jaw Aka Faizal Nahman and his daughter Nono from Bamiyan province, now living in an improvised plastic shelter in the ruined gardens of Darulaman Palace. Built in the 1920s to house an Afghan parliament, ‘Darul Aman’ translates as ‘abode of peace’.
Simon Norfolk
Jaw Aka Faizal Nahman and his daughter Nono from Bamiyan province, now living in an improvised plastic shelter in the ruined gardens of Darulaman Palace. Built in the 1920s to house an Afghan parliament, ‘Darul Aman’ translates as ‘abode of peace’.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.19
Some of the nonsensical property development taking place in Kabul. This district of the city, Karte Char Chateh, is remembered by Kabulis as that part of the bazaar which was burned by the British in 1842 as collective punishment for the killing of the British Envoy. The fires still burned when the British retreated two days later.
Simon Norfolk
Some of the nonsensical property development taking place in Kabul. This district of the city, Karte Char Chateh, is remembered by Kabulis as that part of the bazaar which was burned by the British in 1842 as collective punishment for the killing of the British Envoy. The fires still burned when the British retreated two days later.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.7
At Wasalabad high above West Kabul. It has taken 26 men from the Mine Detection Centre and four de-mining dogs more than three months to clear mines from an area the size of a few soccer pitches. Kabul’s rapid expansion has increased pressure for building land. Mined areas that were once marginal are now in demand for house construction.
Simon Norfolk
At Wasalabad high above West Kabul. It has taken 26 men from the Mine Detection Centre and four de-mining dogs more than three months to clear mines from an area the size of a few soccer pitches. Kabul’s rapid expansion has increased pressure for building land. Mined areas that were once marginal are now in demand for house construction.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.44
Yards supplying construction materials in Nawabadi Guzargah district of Kabul, overlooked by American-controlled electronic eavesdropping equipment on the summit of Kohe Asmai.
Simon Norfolk
Yards supplying construction materials in Nawabadi Guzargah district of Kabul, overlooked by American-controlled electronic eavesdropping equipment on the summit of Kohe Asmai.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.38
The peripheries of the city of Kabul, especially to the north and east are endless building sites. Since most of the documentation concerning land title was lost during the war, much of this speculative and illegal construction is concerned more with establishing undisputable ‘facts on the ground’. Apartments and shops are, almost exclusively, unoccupied.
Simon Norfolk
The peripheries of the city of Kabul, especially to the north and east are endless building sites. Since most of the documentation concerning land title was lost during the war, much of this speculative and illegal construction is concerned more with establishing undisputable ‘facts on the ground’. Apartments and shops are, almost exclusively, unoccupied.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.24
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
Kutchi Village near Dakka.
John Burke
Kutchi Village near Dakka.
1878, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.45
Historically, Kuchis were strongly pro-Taliban; feelings made more intense by being bombed by NATO off their traditional grazing lands in Helmand. They are allowed to set up camp here on Kabul’s periphery only because it is below a large, new Afghan Army base.
Simon Norfolk
Historically, Kuchis were strongly pro-Taliban; feelings made more intense by being bombed by NATO off their traditional grazing lands in Helmand. They are allowed to set up camp here on Kabul’s periphery only because it is below a large, new Afghan Army base.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.46
A Shia cemetery on the flanks of Kohe Asmai.
Simon Norfolk
A Shia cemetery on the flanks of Kohe Asmai.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.43
The entrance to a small, western-backed NGO.
Simon Norfolk
The entrance to a small, western-backed NGO.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.41
‘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
‘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.
2010–2011, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.12
Buddhist Temple excavated at Ali Musjid.
John Burke
Buddhist Temple excavated at Ali Musjid.
1878, printed September 2011
Chromogenic print
2016.224.11