Atomic RoadSide Images

I was born in the 1950’s in the midst of the Cold War in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada. I cannot remember a time when I was not at least vaguely aware of the reality of nuclear war - I could see an air raid siren from my childhood bedroom window. In the early ’60’s, in preparation of a possible nuclear war, the Canadian government sent to every home, nation-wide, plans for building an air raid shelter. At seven-years-old, it was impossible not to feel my parents’ grave concern about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Our family joked that in the event of a nuclear attack, we would have to be at my grandpa’s house because his basement was below ground. From the movie ‘Dr. Strangelove’ to episodes of ‘The Twilight Zone’, popular culture of the day was full of references to the terror of atomic war and its post-apocalyptic dystopia. In the mid-80’s I saw the documentary ‘Atomic Cafe’. It was a pivotal moment for me. In it I saw what I had never expected to witness - a segment of society embracing into Main Street a “normal” nuclear culture. From that moment on I set out with colleague Cam Campbell to photograph this radioactive culture - to-me-a very odd and benign perception of nuclear imagery appearing in signs on bowling alleys, auto body shops, burger joints, churches and schools.