(somber music) - [Jennifer] I was thinking that maybe we could just start with a little introduction.

- Okay.

I was in the United States Army.

I served for three years.

And I did a tour in Iraq from '04 to '05.

So I did a year tour in Iraq.

- My name is Jennifer Karady, and I'm an artist.

I work collaboratively with people to dramatize their stories.

Since 2006, I've been working with veterans who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan to make these staged narrative photographs that both depict a moment from war and also reveal their difficulties in adjusting to civilian life.

(somber music) - [Veteran] I was on edge all the time, a constant state of alertness because we were in a crowded area.

(somber music) - [Jennifer] It's a fictional scenario that is intended to reveal something truthful.

And then it's also a portrait at the same time.

(somber music) - [Veteran] I served in Iraq, Southern Iraq from 2006 to 2007.

I had a pretty extensive experience with rockets.

We got rocketed, mortared all the time.

(somber music) - I'm trying to create a photograph that is going to convey something that's hidden below the surface, something invisible or unconscious.

Over 2 million veterans now have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It doesn't just affect the veterans.

It also affects their families and their friends and their communities.

I feel like these stories deserve our attention.

If you're a citizen of this country, you should know what our country has asked of these veterans and what happens to them when they come home and they try to become civilians again.

The process begins with a series of interviews.

What kinds of things were you tasked to do in Iraq?

- I left here being transportation, being a driver.

And when I got there, I actually ended up being a 50-cal gunner.

Never in my wildest dreams I would've imagined doing that, but I did.

- I met Lucy through a group of female veterans that I interviewed.

I was introduced to them through a veterans' organization in Los Angeles.

Lucy described to me how she was in a transportation company in Iraq and she was outside the wire every day, which means that she was, you know, not on base.

She was running missions every day and she was in a lot of firefights.

And there was one firefight in particular that really stuck with her.

- They all started coming out from the top, from the bottom.

They were like all hiding.

They were all hiding, you know, in the buildings.

And literally, I was like, I feel like sitting ducks.

We were like, we were driving.

And as we were driving, they were like shooting at us, you know, because we were passing through.

We wouldn't stop.

And so they killed one of the guys right there and then.

It wasn't that long of a time, but I can tell you what everybody, like that I saw, I can remember what they were wearing.

- What did they look like, Lucy?

- What were they wearing?

- Yeah, like what were the things that stand out from that?

- Just like their face of like anger.

Like I said, we thought we weren't gonna make it out of there.

You know, we drive to the other truck.

And it's just like, you hear 'em ricochet off our truck, like the bullets.

You just hear 'em like, ping ping ping.

You know, they start hitting us again.

I'm still shooting my M16.

Like I said, it's funny because we ran through all our ammo.

I mean, we had other firefights after that.

We had other issues, you know, and IEDs and things blown up.

But for me, this one's the most memorable time.

That was one of the reasons why I had PTSD was because of that incident, of that day.

I think that was the first time that I saw, you know, what my gun can do.

- Lucy came home, and she basically became a stay-at-home wife and mother.

So her family's favorite breakfast was biscuits and gravy.

And she would make biscuits with those biscuit dough cans that you open and then they pop.

Every time she had to open one of these cans, she would basically have like an anxiety attack in anticipation of the popping sound.

- I know it's a can of dough but for me, it's an explosive device.

You know, for me, it's something that's gonna make a, not even a loud boom but it's gonna make a boom sound.

And I have to make that happen.

If someone else pops the can, you know, I'll be like, if they're doing it in the kitchen... - [Jennifer] I spend a lot of time listening and kind of really taking in their story and what I'm hearing.

- [Lucy] I peel the little piece off the can and I throw it and I run.

I throw it, I throw it, I throw it.

It can land on the floor, it can land wherever and I just run.

I hear the pop and I was like, "It wasn't even that loud."

- And then I go back to them and present them with visual ideas so that I can see kind of what direction they feel comfortable going in.

Some of the stuff you've told me that was really interesting was like how you, you know, got out of the army, became this like kind of perfect wife and mother, stay-at-home mom and kind of like shut all of your military experience, shut the war away.

But you reacting to this biscuit can is like this way that, you know, the war kind of infiltrates, you know, your daily life.

So yeah, I was thinking that we'd try to get, you know, most of those elements in the picture, right?

- I can kind of see what you mean.

I can picture it.

- You can?

I spend a lot of time working out the composition and what other elements we need.

This is you.

This is the biscuit can.

And then I draw on the Polaroids to kind of block out the composition, which also becomes a way for me to show the veteran what I'm thinking about.

- If you want me to run this way, I will have to throw it that way.

- That way.

The photograph is really built around the action.

So the veteran is reenacting, in a way, a pose or action or gesture from the story.

I mean, do you wanna really do this or not?

- I can so you can see it.

I mean, like I said, it's something that I'm working with.

- Well, it's totally up to you.

You don't have to.

We could just have you like kind of start to peel it and then I could pop it.

- [Lucy] I can, I can, I can do it.

So I am a little nervous about it.

(peeling paper off of biscuit can) - [Jennifer] But it's just a can of biscuits.

- But it's just a... (biscuit can pops) (Lucy shrieks) - All right, there we go.

- And there it was.

And now we lost this one 'cause it got wet.

Sorry, guys.

(Lucy laughs nervously) - Here.

You okay?

- Yeah.

- If we're working with a trigger, in this case, the biscuit dough can is a trigger for Lucy's anxiety, I don't want as an artist to trigger that anxiety.

(biscuit can pops) So we decided to kind of create this sculpture of the biscuit can exploding.

That was very difficult to try to simulate this kind of high speed photographic capturing of this biscuit can exploding, the dough is coming out, it's expanding, to really give the sense of the drama of this moment and how it really feels to her.

We're just gonna kind of fake what we did last week.

- [Lucy] Okay.

- [Jennifer] It's really important that the process evolves slowly over time.

It can't be rushed.

(can falls on asphalt) So I go live in the place and work pretty intensively with the person for at least six to eight weeks.

So running, stopping and turning back.

- Like this or like this?

- Yeah, like that.

Is there anything that we could incorporate into your photo that will make you feel comfortable or safe or, you know, could be, I don't know.

Does anything come to mind?

- Yeah, I think definitely my kids.

I mean, I think that's the only reason why, you know, I continue or to, you know, anything.

I'm doing this also because of them, in a way.

- [Jennifer] Right.

You mean the photo shoot too?

- Mm-hmm, yes.

- [Jennifer] Right.

So it sounds like it's important that they're part of it.

- I would like them to be.

- And that it could somehow like help them understand their mom a little bit better, right?

- [Lucy] And I think that more than anything I would like them to see that part.

You have asked me why... - Lucy's children weren't really aware of her war experience.

So we wanted to make sure that they felt comfortable with participating in the photo shoot.

It's all pretend.

But she's gonna be acting.

Just like you guys are gonna be acting, she's gonna be acting a part.

- I'll look scared.

- Yeah, she's gonna be acting scared.

- Ohhh.

- [Jennifer] They were really excited about it.

- Is this too crazy?

- Yes, that is too crazy.

That counts as too crazy.

Here, show Anton this top.

That's way too crazy.

I'm interested in creating a photograph that they really feel conveys their story visually.

This is very different from the traditional photographer/subject relationship because it's so collaborative.

The idea is like she's kind of running.

Location scouting is a really important part of the process.

Now, is this for the other part of the house too?

- [Homeowner] This is for all of the whole house.

- [Jennifer] I was drawn to Lucy's story in particular because it took place in this very domestic space that we think of as traditionally female.

And I think I scouted seven kitchens before I found the right one.

When Lucy described the firefight to me, she talked about the sounds of the bullets hitting her truck, this kind of pinging sound.

So I needed to get a refrigerator and cabinet doors and put bullet holes in them to suggest a sense of this firefight.

(Engergizing music) We could put you in yellow.

Let's see.

The photo shoot is a very highly choreographed production.

And it takes place over a day at least.

I have a crew that is helping me with the lighting and getting everything ready.

Every little detail is very carefully considered.

All right, here we go.

- [Crew Member] All right, smoke.

(camera clicking) - Yeah.

(camera clicking) All right, loosen up your hands, Lucy.

Yeah, one arm is forward, one arm is back.

(camera clicking) (Jennifer and Lucy laughing) All right, Lucy, yeah, turn back towards me.

(camera clicking) Good, that's really good.

I shoot a lot of film.

I shoot hundreds, hundreds of frames of film.

You should hold that pose.

Nikki, that's good, looking at your sister.

(camera clicking) Excellent.

Lucy, try turning your body like that way again, like more that way.

In a way, what I'm doing is I'm setting the scene and then kind of letting things happen, but directing them at the same time.

All right, look at your food, you guys.

Yum!

(camera clicking) What?

(camera clicking) Okay, Nikki, never look at the camera.

Yeah, I'm trying to get you more, a little bit more in profile.

We spend a lot of time working on their pose and I shoot a lot of Polaroids.

So you're running.

And then you stop but you turn back to look.

Especially in Lucy's case, that really helped her figure out what she needed to do.

(camera clicking) She's basically performing herself.

She's basically kind of performing her former self as a soldier in the photograph.

Yeah, that's good.

(camera clicking) That's good.

(camera clicking) There was a point where Lucy really got into it and she really got her kind of action down and she really inhabited playing that role.

That was good.

(footsteps) I don't digitally alter the photographs in any way.

And I think that's really important for this project because I don't wanna be able to go back and change something later.

Because the process is collaborative, it's important that everything that was there in that moment is there in the photograph.

I actually spend a lot of time editing.

I look at very slight, nuanced details in terms of the pose and the expressions on Lucy's face or her kids' faces and, you know, looking for that perfect moment, that kind of decisive moment.

I've made 21 photographs with veterans across the country so far.

If anything, my commitment has deepened over time to the work, mostly because I feel so privileged to be the person who's bringing these stories out into the world.

My hope is that these photographs will help civilians kind of understand soldiers better.

And my hope is that it, you know, the whole process of making the picture is helpful somehow for the person.

- Oh, my goodness.

(somber music) Huhh.

(somber music) Hmmm.

(Lucy chuckles) (somber music) - What do you think?

- It's amazing, it's amazing.

My face.

(somber music) - [Jennifer] What about your face?

What do you see?

- Kind of how I feel, you know, when I open a can of biscuits.

I told you like the times that, you know, when my kids are there, I feel like those are the things that kind of help me to remember that I'm not there, that I shouldn't be afraid or I shouldn't be nervous.

You know, they're the ones who kind of keep me grounded.

But I truly feel like that.

And I try not to show it.

I'm starting to think, you know, how the biscuit is just a biscuit can and not give it the power that it has.

It's still not completely gone, it's still there.

But just even learning about it and how, you know, how I have to cope with it has really helped.

Like I told you, you were key on that.

Because for many years, I just kind of put everything away.

So it was nice to finally get that out and start the healing process.

(uplifting music)