This mask, seen in a screengrab from the video "Behind the Mask," was made as a part of the Combat Paper Project, a veterans art collective that transforms pulpified military uniforms into handmade paper. Credit: Reveal

One cold evening in January, writer Joshua E.S. Phillips visited Eli Wright at an art studio in Branchburg, New Jersey. Wright works with the Combat Paper Project there – a veterans art collective that transforms pulpified military uniforms into handmade paper.

YouTube video

Phillips has been talking to U.S. soldiers about detainee torture and abuse for the past decade.

Wright is a former combat medic who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq from 2003 to 2004. During his tour, he says he treated Iraqi prisoners after brutal interrogations.

Wright’s art helps him cope with these experiences.

Julia B. Chan can be reached at jchan@revealnews.org. Follow her on Twitter: @juliachanb.

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Julia B. Chan worked at The Center for Investigative Reporting until June, 2017. Julia B. Chan is a producer and the digital editor for Reveal's national public radio program. She’s the voice of Reveal online and manages the production and curation of digital story assets that are sent to more than 200 stations across the country. Previously, Chan helped The Center for Investigative Reporting launch YouTube’s first investigative news channel, The I Files, and led engagement strategies – online and off – for multimedia projects. She oversaw communications, worked to better connect CIR’s work with a bigger audience and developed creative content and collaborations to garner conversation and impact.

Before joining CIR, Chan worked as a Web editor and reporter at the San Francisco Examiner. She managed the newspaper’s digital strategy and orchestrated its first foray into social media and online engagement. A rare San Francisco native, she studied broadcasting at San Francisco State University, focusing on audio production and recording. Chan is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.