Week 5: Exploring Impact - Alan Kurdi / Risk Assessment
In this week we looked at how a singular image can change the opinions of so many through its impact.
Alan Kurdi was the young 3 year old Syrian refugee, whose body was discovered washed upon the shore of a Turkish beach in 2015. His story became a geopolitical sensation, which was fuelled by the candid and explicit photographs taken of his body by Nilufer Demir. There were multiple images captured at the scene and it was interesting to see how different publications and news agencies decided which one to publish, presumably based upon their sensitivity regulations for their respective audiences.
Upon discovering the body Demir is quoted as saying:
“There was nothing left to do for him. There was nothing left to bring him back to life, I thought, this is the only way I can express the scream of his silent body.”
A link to the photo and this story can be found on the TIME 100 Photographs website here
Further analysis of the photograph reveals a lot about the composition (unintended) and the body language of the officials carrying away the body. I think many people in possession of a camera would have photographed the body had they come across it, although the shape of Alan Kurdi’s body offers an immensely poignant visual. It is that of a child who has no evidence of physical injury, and seems to have by chance adopted a sleeping position. Were the body seen is some more grotesque or unnatural state, I doubt the image would have had anywhere near the same impact. For many looking at the picture (parents or otherwise) they saw an innocence at rest in a lifeless tragic situation, and I believe this resonates more as a familiar pose ones own child could be regularly seen in.
When I look at the picture I find myself surprisingly more sad than shocked. And even as a photographer I don’t feel the need to analyse it beyond the symbolic precedent impact it generated. It was an opportunist photograph, technically of average quality, and yet the subject matter and surrounding story elevate it beyond the aesthetic to a human morality statement. The image could easily have been suppressed, and yet in the modern era of sharing and the social media, it transcended to a level global awareness, and with that the following storm of political activity. Its subsequent use around the world as an artistic metaphor, appearing even as graffiti symbolises the power of the ‘image’.
This also brought to mind the subject of photographing people, the current topic of my research project where I am trying to document ordinary people, in ordinary locations, under extraordinary circumstances.
In my past practice I have photographed many people, from the general public to the famous and celebrities. I think it is quite fair to say that photographing people on the street requires a lot more confidence and tenacity, than those who are used to the public glare and lens. By example here are two images I have taken. The first image is of the iconic Debbie Harry (Blondie), the second of a care home resident taken last week.
Fig 1. (left) TIPPING, 2017, Debbie Harry
Fig 2. (right) TIPPING 2020, Care Home Resident
Because I was familiar with the work (and persona) of Debbie Harry, and was taking the photograph by invitation, there was no anxiety about the justification for being there. I was confident, excited and disappointed when the process was over. When taking the opportunistic picture of the care home resident I was the opposite. I was unsure and very self aware of my actions, and anyone seeing me take the picture. Here I was invading this persons privacy, them being totally unaware and unconsenting of my actions. Although my agenda was for research purposes, and private/educational use, it was still a situation I was keen to be out of. Having developed the picture, the impact I had hoped for seems less powerful in hindsight. But I still, believe the image when viewed in context with the overall project stands up to scrutiny.