A heart wrenching photo that asks many questions of us all…
Of late, I have been reflecting on images, in particular the associated language of “taking” or “capturing” photos and the inter-related but possibly impossible idea of de-colonizing photos (or a museum collection). My earnest but inadequate suggestion for “de-colonizing photos” is to remove the colonizers. Of course, fundamentally, this changes little. But, perhaps, and this is my hope, it might open up some space, and perhaps another way into the important conversations around “de-colonization”.
But what about contemporaneous photos that provoke contemporaneous pains? is “removal” or subtraction, a valid response? I am ambivalent in my answers…
This is a thought provoking article about the power and pain inherent in the uncertain certainty around the veracity and lies of a photograph:
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48031/the-falling-man-tom-junod/