28 13 April 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
Christian Phalange Gunmen in the Holiday Inn Hotel, Beirut, 1976‘Partofthehugeappealofhiswork isthe fact that he’s so empathetic’ALISONBASKERVILLEAlisonBaskervilleworksonprojectsexploringconflictand
themilitary.Formerlya soldier,shehasworkedforvarious
charitiesincludingtheRoyalBritishLegionandHumanity
& Inclusion.Herfirstsoloshow,‘TheWhitePicture’,
documentedthelivesof womenservingin theBritishArmy
and was exhibited at The Oxo Gallery in London in 2012.IrememberreadingSusanSontag’sextendedessay
RegardingthePainof Others, whichis a problematictitlein
somewaysaswhogetstodecidewhois the‘other’?I’m
lookingat thisimagedisplayinga womanreducedtoshowing
hernaked,thinandtraumatisedbodywithherstarvingchild.
Thiswomanof colouris shownat hermostvulnerableand
withlittletonodignity.Sheis semi-nakedandherbreasts
areondisplay.Hernameis absent.
I chosethisimageasit representssomuchof the
conversationandactionsweneedtotakeas21st-century
photographersin relationtoethicsandrepresentation.Atthe
timethisimagewastakentherewasperhapsanideathatthis
couldbringaboutsomeformof change.I’msuretheseare
theimagesthatstillhauntthephotographer.I knowfrommy
timeasa soldierandphotographertherearemomentsstill
etchedintome.In myownpracticeI havebecomeacutely
awareof howwerepresentpeopleof colour,especiallyin
relationtotrauma.Asphotographersworkingin 2019we
havetoensurewedon’treplicatetheWesternviewof
depictingthepainandsufferingof peopleof colour.
Wearemoreconnecteddigitallythaneverbefore
andit’ssimplynotenoughtosaywe‘didn’tknow’.While
I respectandadmiremuchof Don’sworkI feelit’stimeto
avoidthisstyleof photographyaswearenowin a position
tounderstandhowtobreakdownraciststructureswhich
appearin ourmediaandsocietyandareoftenperpetuated
in ourstyleof photography.Foranyonelookinginto
photographyI thinkthefirststepis lookingat yourselfand
yourownidentity.Alsolookat whois alreadytheretelling
thesestories.Therearesomeexceptionalphotographers
workingin Africaandthemiddleeast right now. Sometimes
it’s as simple as using Google.
Starving 24-year-old mother with child, Biafra, 1968
tantamounttoabuseasa
child.HegrewupinFinsbury
Park,postBlitz,whichwasstill
completelybombedoutasa result
oftheBlitzandwasa reallypoor
area.He’dalsohadtodealwith
thedeathofhisfatherwhenhe
wasreallyyoung– hehadtoleave
schoolat 14 tobecomethe
breadwinnertohisbrotherand
twosiblings,workingina tin
solderfactoryandinthedining
caroftherailwayline.He’d
alreadyhadthisviolent,attimes,
anditinerantbeginningswhich
I thinkreallygavehimthebasis
forthisemotionalawareness
that’sreallyattheheartofall
ofhiswork.
Wehavea quoteonthewall:‘If
youcan’tfeelwhatyou’relooking
atthenyou’renevergoingtoget
anyoneelsetofeelanything
whentheylookatyourpictures.’I
thinkthere’sthathugeemotional
awareness,rightthroughallofhis
work,whetherit beconflict,
documentaryorlandscape.Cornell
Capa– thearthistorianand
curator,andRobertCapa’sbrother- coinedtheterm‘concerned
photographers’forthisgroupof
photographerswhohadthishuge
capacityforempathy.Donwasone
ofthosethatCornellidentified.
I thinkthatpartofthehugeappeal
ofhisworkis thefactthatheis so
empathetic– therealdriveto
documentthehumancondition,
whetherit’sthefrailty of life or the
futilityofwar.AD:Doyouthinkmodern
photographersstanda chanceof
replicatingthesuccesshe’shad?
AM:I thinkit’sa verydifferent
world,now.Whenhewasfirst
working,photographywasstill
a relativelynewmedium– not
everybodyhadcameras.When
Donwasfirstsettingout,there
wasa sortoffascinationwiththe
cameraandthatenabledhimtodo
alittlebitmore.
Theconflictphotographyera
hascompletelytransformed
beyondrecognition– thatageof
photographersworkingintheway
thatDonwasdoing;inpart,it was
downtothosephotographers.The
governmentsanddifferentbodies
ofpeoplewhowereinvolvedin
theseconflictsunderstoodallof
a suddenthattheyneededto
makesurethatpeopleweren’t
documentingtheminthewaythat
Donwas,becausephotographers
likeDonendedupproviding
imagesthatshapedtheworld’s
understandingofthingslikethe
VietnamWar.Peoplesettingout
todayhavea completelydifferent
jumping-offpointwhichmeansit
can’tnecessarilybereplicatedin
theparticularwayinwhich he
forgedhiscareer.Theexhibition,‘DonMcCullin’,is onnowat theTateBritain,Millbank,London,until6 May2019.
Tickets cost £18 – advance booking is recommended.Seetate.org.uk for more information.