In 2002 they were commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to research the War in Afganistan. As a result of their the pair produced a trilogy of works including The House of Osama bin Laden, an interactive computer animation of the house occupied by Osama bin Laden in the late 1990s. The work, which utalised state of the art gaming technology of the day allows the viewer to move through digital landscape seeking that which is no longer present.

In 2004 the work won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts award (BAFTA) for Interactive Art Installation. The work also featured in their Turner Prize nominated show at Tate Britain in the same year. A second work in the trilogy Zardads Dog which documented the trail of Abdullah Shah, nicknamed Zardad’s Dog because of his penchant for biting his victims before murdering them, was withdrawn from exhibition amid fears that it may be held in contempt of court during the then trial of Afghan warlord Faryadi Sarwar Zardad.

Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh as part of the Langlands & Bell Films & Animations 1978 – 2008 exhibition until December 13th. Other notable works in the exhibition include 2008’s ‘Departure‘ a ‘Guerilla Website’ linked to wallpaper.com and ‘Kitchen’ their first film collaboration from 1978.

The staff and students of ContemporaryArtETC.com would like to thank Zoë Fothergill and the Talbot Rice Gallery for the excellent talk and tour we received at the exhibition.

www.langlandsandbell.com

www.wallpaper.com/art/langlands–bell-digital-exclusive/2369

www.trg.ed.ac.uk/