Haiti
The corpse of a young man lies in the street, his eyes half open, his face covered with insects. The uncaptioned image is like a jolt of electricity; no words could improve upon it. Ian Thomson's introduction confirms that life has little value in Haiti (cheap for humans, worthless for animals), a once proud nation that has declined into a police state where brutal poverty is the order of the day. Bruce Gilden's largely shocking black-and-white pictures reveal that decline as perhaps never before in a shoot-from-the-hip style of photojournalism. While some of the shots stand alone, others beg for explanation. Despite the silence, the images are anything but quiet; if you listen carefully, you can almost hear them scream.