48. iRaq Forkscrew Graphics Silkscreen, 2004 Los Angeles, CA
iRaq combines the infamous photograph of a prisoner tortured in Abu Ghraib, the U.S. run prison in Iraq, with the graphics of the internationally distributed iPod ad. The poster was produced soon after the photograph was first seen by the U.S. public in 2004. This is one of a series of four posters mimicking the iPod ads. The posters were inserted into rows of real iPod ads in Los Angeles, so that the viewer would do a double take when passing by. An almost identical appropriation of the iPod ad was simultaneously produced by New York artist Copper Greene, who also inserted his posters into the rows of iPod ads in the subways and on the walls of New York. This is a very effective form of culture jamming—once someone sees the parody or politicized version, they can rarely see the real advertisement without thinking of the politicized one.