The Swiss-born artist Christoph Büchel often employs commercially-manufactured and household objects, as well as appropriated media from varied sources including the internet, in large-scale installations critical of global conflicts. His works frequently focus on the psychological effects of propaganda and challenge the viewer to take responsibility for one’s own political beliefs. For example, on the occasion of the Sharjah International Biennial held in the United Arab Emirates, Büchel and his collaborator Giovanni Carmine created the project PSYOP in which a fake classroom within the Sharjah Art Museum followed protocols of a 1968 army training film. The installation was filled with thousands of copies of propaganda dropped in Afghanistan and Iraq during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Büchel explained, “Since the 9/11 attacks, the United States-led coalition has dropped millions of leaflets on Afghanistan and Iraq, and they are still doing it. Physically, it’s a rain of paper across the landscape. It’s all about weakening and dissolving the unity and beliefs of the ‘enemy,’ destroying their sense of ‘reality’ with a new ‘reality’ that falls from the sky.”[1] 

Büchel’s rug, Made in Afghanistan (2001-2006), describes in its title the commissioning of the handcrafted medium within an embattled country known for its heirloom textiles. By commissioning the rug produced with images related to the 9/11 attacks, Büchel raises questions about American supremacy during a period when the Bush Administration increased surveillance at home while deploying troops abroad. The rug maintains traditional ornamentation around its margin while its center includes images of planes, a simplified American flag, and a peace dove centered in front of the World Trade Center, placed around texts including USA, AMERICAN and IMPACT.