London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Car Bomb)

I thought that this was a powerful exhibit at the Imperial War Museum, it’s an Iraqi civilian vehicle which was destroyed by a suicide bomber at the Mutanabbi Street book market in Baghdad, Iraq, on 5 March 2007. There were 38 people killed and over 100 people injured, with the artist Jeremy Deller then taking the car on tour in the United States as a reminder of the impact of war and hatred. The street was devastated by the attack and it wasn’t restored until 18 December 2008, when the then Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki was present at a ceremony at its re-opening.

Abdul Baqi Faidhullah, a local poet, said at the time:

“There are no Americans or Iraqi politicians here — there are only Iraqi intellectuals who represent themselves and their homeland, plus stationery and book dealers. Those who did this are like savage machines intent on harvesting souls and killing all bright minds.”