Vivid Photos Reveal The Real People Behind the Uniform

CONFLICTS end, soldiers return. Uniforms are folded and pictures placed on the mantle. Although new lives beckon on Civvy Street , veterans often carry the weight of service with them long after they return home.  

For many, reintegration is coming to terms with those two halves: the veteran and the civilian made anew.

This divide between military and civilian life proved to be the basis for the Veteran Art Project, an absorbing visual experiment by Devin Mitchell who explains that by capturing these moments on camera, she explores a part of the veteran’s experience that is often difficult to articulate. 

The idea is simple enough: Devin finds a room with a mirror and a willing subject, then takes two separate photos. One is a picture of the subject in military uniform, the other in civilian ware. The two photos are then spliced using Photoshop.

“I don’t interview them, all I ask is if they’re veteran and if I can come and take their picture,” This is an opportunity for people to speak without having to say something.”

Marine Cpl. Daphne Bye and her now ex-husband, Marine Staff Sgt. David Bye, were featured in the Veteran Art Project series. 

Devin finished by adding: “It seems almost therapeutic for them. I feel like they’re showing other veterans they’re not alone, that there’s other people like them,”

All pictures courtesy of Devin Mitchell