Model citizens

First edition of Model citizens by Debi Cornwall. (2024)

First impression

Large format hardcover in new condition.

Pages clean, binding firm

Language ‏ : ‎ English

220 pages

Signed copy

About

The last in a trilogy of books on the American condition, Model Citizens considers the United States as a case study into a global phenomenon: How have staging, performance, and roleplay come to inform thinking about citizenship in a violent land whose people no longer agree on what is true?

Jarringly juxtaposed images from apparently unrelated sites—such as US Border Patrol Academy training scenarios, “Save America” rallies, and history museums—illuminate systems that reconcile, justify, or distract from the harsh realities of life in a polarized, militarized society. The design accentuates slippages: images flow across French-fold page turns, just as Cornwall’s practice questions the role of documentary photography in an era of splintered realities. 

The Model Citizens project was awarded the 2023 Prix Elysée, a biennial juried prize for mid-career photographers, sponsored by the Photo Elysée Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.