Untitled (from Memory Bucket)

These twenty-two photographic prints each represent a still from Jeremy Deller’s documentary film Memory Bucket, which won the Turner Prize in 2004. Created while Deller was on a residency in San Antonio, Texas, for two months, the Memory Bucket project – which also incorporates bumper stickers, t-shirts and other souvenirs reflecting the natural sights and socio-political currents that Deller encountered – was inspired by the physical proximity of two of the state’s most infamous spots. Put on the map by the presidential Bush family, Crawford is a small ranching town that represents Texas, if not America, at its most patriotic. Just minutes away lies Waco, another town of international repute: nearby Mount Carmel is the location of the Branch Davidian compound, the site of a widely critiqued 1993 government siege which resulted in a deadly fire. Deller’s video intersperses interviews with people from both towns with footage that captures a tapestry of Texan history, culture and landscape. From swarms of bats to churches in the desert sun, anti-Bush protestors to flower-bearing cops, Deller creates a fascinating and multifaceted portrait of place.