Documenting Life in Countries You Probably Never Knew Existed

What does it mean when a nation declares sovereignty, draws lines in the sand, and sets up a government but lacks the world’s recognition? That’s what Narayn Mahon investigated in his series, “Lands in Limbo,” which went on display at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in Wisconsin on Dec. 6. Between 2006 and 2010, Mahon visited Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Somaliland, looking for a sense of “identity and isolation” in places full of patriotism, yet excluded from the international community.