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Afterbursts was inspired by an image of a Chinese man and an American WW2 GI lighting their cigarettes tip to tip. In the mid 2010s, governments were resurrecting wartime grievances to fit modern day geopolitical narratives. Allegiances had shifted unrecognisably since the war's end. How did the people who fought the war feel about the use of their wartime suffering to promote division?

This simple idea became more complex as I spoke to the survivors, who shared with me their wartime experiences and how this shaped their lives and their views of the world. In retelling their stories, Afterbursts debunks nationalist narratives and reveals the true human experience of conflict.