These photographs were made on and around US military bases in Japan, Korea and on Guam, a part of the world designated by the Pentagon as the US Indo-Pacific Command. The Pentagon divides the world into six separate regional commands and INDOPACOM is the largest, covering half the surface of the world. The military component of US influence in the region is mainly anchored in these bases established more than sixty years ago, at the end of WW II and the Korean War. I first encountered this network of overseas US bases when I lived and travelled in Japan in the 1970s. More recently, on visits to more than a dozen bases in Japan, Korea and Guam, I was able to see something of the workings of these American outposts. The physical setting of the bases shares many of the features of small town or suburban American life. Except that in these communities an attack jet or nuclear submarine might be found at the end of the block.



Half the Surface of the World  was featured in the "Perspectives" exhibition at the International Centre of Photography, New York, Jan 23-May 6, 2012.