Jenny Holzer - Original - These enhanced techniques

2012

In “These enhanced techniques”, American artist Jenny Holzer responds to one of the most disturbing political scandals of the early 21st century: the U.S. government's use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”, including the torture method waterboarding, during the Gulf Wars.

This unique handmade work features enlarged reproductions of original U.S. government files, in which nearly all text is blacked out—except for the phrases “These enhanced techniques include:” and “Water Board”.

Signed, titled and dated verso by the artist - Visible through plexiglas

Published by Griffelkunst-Vereinigung Hamburg e.V., with full typographic documentation on the reverse.

Professionally framed, in a bespoke black wooden frame, custom handmade in The Netherlands, with high-quality Plexiglas® Optical HC, for visual clarity and protects the delicate print. 
Size framed approx. 90 x 70  cm

The sheet is entirely handmade, with the text and redacted areas formed by scooping and shaping two different types of paper pulp—not printed. The result is a singular, tactile object that speaks to censorship, institutional secrecy, and state-sanctioned violence. The work is unique, not part of a numbered edition.

Jenny Holzer (b. 1950) is known worldwide for her text-based conceptual art. Her work uses language as a medium for protest, political critique, and poetic reflection. From LED signs to granite benches to archival documents, she challenges the viewer to confront power structures and the role of language in shaping public consciousness.
This piece stands as a chilling yet beautifully constructed example of Holzer’s ability to turn truth into object, silence into form, and evidence into art.