A Voice for Eritreans.

Unit Title: Visual Exploration 

Unit Code: VPF409

Level: 4 

Assessment Title: Illustrated Exhibition Review

Assessment Number: AE1

Assessment Type: Exhibition Review

‘A section of the assessed review layout.’  

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A Voice for Eritreans

‘Even This Will Pass’ by Aida Silvestri.

Roman Road, London.

11^th March to 26^th April 2014.

Exhibition Review by Danielle Pugh 

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Aida Silvestri, embarks on a thin-skinned photographic voyage exploring the journey made by African refugees from Eritrea to Europe in a desperate attempt for stability and equality within the promise land. The show is exhibited from 11/3/14 – 26/04/14 at the Roman Road Project Space in London, Bethnal Green.

It’s well known yet often overlooked that the Horn of Africa struggles from economic and political crisis. While ruled by a dictatorial government the population of Eritrea are without freedom of speech as well as being under a political regime known as the ‘North Korea of Africa’. These circumstances result in violent conflict over the pursuit of power. As well as drought, famine and many other demoralising aspects, this has resulted in high numbers of African refugees fleeing their countries in hope for a better life elsewhere.

Silvestri’s series at Roman Road documents the overlooked, tragic and shocking stories of the journeys refugees embark on from Eritrea. The elements of the show create a tense and overwhelming atmosphere of shock and severe empathy.

The initial intention of the show is to raise awareness of the horrific consequences refugees face when pursuing to escaping from their past lives in Africa. Many of them regretfully end up at prison camps, in the hands of human traffickers, being tortured, abused, or even departing from life altogether. What some of us fail to see is that it is ultimately unfair that whilst we have no control over where we are born, depending on where that may be some of us are restricted to whether we can leave in order to enhance our lives, therefore in severe cases are force to face life threatening sacrifices in order to do so.

The title of the show ‘Even This Will Pass’ comes from a message written upon a wall in Mount Sinai, the message encourages Eritreans to stay persistent and keep hope as they pass through Egypt whilst making their way to the United Kingdom, known as the promise land.

Eritrea to London on foot, by car, lorry, boat and train. From the series Even This Will Pass by Aida Silvestri

The conceptual approach to the topic displays 10 anonymous portraits of surviving refugees. Each portrait is blurred in order to protect the dignity of the subject. Accompanying each portrait is a short piece of text which poetically yet brutally expresses an insight to the voice of the sitter, what they saw, faced and overcome throughout their journey. Silvestri explains to the British Journal of Photography that the sitters were frightened and anxious when talking about their experiences, of course this is comprehensible knowing what harrowing mental and physical torture they have been through. The seriousness of the text, the harsh reality of the words personified through a portrait, which appears blurred, isolated and sensitive enhances a tremble of phonetics within your imagination of the sitter’s voice. The intimate atmosphere of the compact gallery space becomes much darker as you close in on the faceless stranger and tread carefully upon their personal scars. The expression of emotion within the text of each individual’s story is truly haunting. The combination of the portrait and text allows the viewer to discover more about the sitter, which enhances feelings of disturbance and guilt. The blurred face remains anonymous and ambiguous causing the viewer concerns of the potential extension of suffering from what we understand as a result of the exhibition at Roman Road.

In addition to the portrait and literature there is also a hand stitched thread upon the surface of the portrait which tracks out the route taken by the certain individual, the colour of the thread matches up on the map located within the gallery. This route indicates to the viewer the path in which the refugee took, this element is certainly eye opening as it puts the distance and complexity of the journey they take into perspective, it also undoubtedly amplifies the obvious struggle from which we are already aware of.

The anonymous blurred portraits work particularly well in a sense that they leave the body language and facial expression interpretations as an enigma and instead represent the struggling reality to raise awareness of the under covered stories of our era. Unlike Fazal Sheikh’s refugee women from Somalia portraits where every element of their facial expression tells a story, for the purpose of the show Silvestri’s work is much more delicate and emotive as her sitters remain unseen. The visual distortion could be seen as a metaphoric interpretation of a blind journey, perhaps this could remind the viewer that those travelling refugees are under immense pressure travelling illegally, day and night in places they have never been to before, in countries they are unfamiliar with and unwelcome in and the hidden sacrifices they have to make in able to continue with their peregrination.

From the series ‘Sleepers’ by Yto Barrada, 2006.

Similarly, Yto Barrada’s series ‘Sleepers’ deals with related concepts by documenting Moroccan migrants before embarking on their illegal journey across the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa to Europe. Compared to Silvestri the approach is similar, Barrada photographs shows anonymous migrants who have burnt their passports. These people are known as the ‘burnt ones’, Barrada depicts the individuals sleeping in parks with their faces covered in the hope to remain unnoticed and avoid confrontation with the authorities. Although her work is intriguing and visually bizarre I find that Silvestri tackles the importance of the topic in a much more emotively powerful way as she elaborates on the shocking reality of the journey in which they embark on. The curatorial decisions of the show also extend this notion. The confined gallery space enables the viewer to feel on a much more personal level with the work enabling them to feel much closer and personal with the individuals represented, allowing them to intrude on the suffering of the souls who have struggled to make it to the UK on their illegal and perilous journey.

The location of the show attracts more fortunate visual elitists and the layout has the ability move the viewer by its passionately emotive and respectful tribute to the refugees of Eritrea.

Silvestri intention to give a voice to those who are commonly unheard has certainly been granted and with full optimism the show can continue to raise awareness of human trafficking and other relentless excruciating situations refugees are confronted with while simply trying to enhance their lives.

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Bibliography

Books –

Maxted, J, and Abebe, Z, 2001. Human Stability and Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Volume 10, Issue 4, 2001. South Africa. p45-57

Bariagaber, A., 2006. Conflict and the refugee experience: flight, exile, and repatriation in the Horn of Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate.

p. Preface, ix. Part I, 1 p2 and 2 p21, Part II, 3 p41.

Journals –

Padley, G, 2013, Aida Silvestri’s Even This Will Pass. British Journal of Photography. [online] Available from:

http://www.bjp-online.com/2013/07/aida-silvestris-even-this-will-pass/

Padley, G, 2014, Aida Silvestri puts on solo show. British Journal of Photography. [online] Available from:

http://www.bjp-online.com/2014/03/aida-silvestri-solo-show/

Article –

Hagen, C, 1996. Photography Review: Reading the Sorrow of Africa in Individual Faces. The New York Times. MLA 7^th Edition. [viewed 19 April 2014]. Available from:

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GALE|A150555522&v=2.1&u=southampton&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=2

Websites –

Ballani, M., 2014, Roman Road, Aida Silvestri, Even This Will Pass, Press Release. [online] [viewed 17 March 2014]. Available from:

http://www.romanroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/PR_ASRRLSHOW14.pdf

UNHCR Global Appeal, 2014. East and Horn of Africa UNHCR Regional operations profile. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45a846.html 

UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency, 2014. Regional Overview. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://data.unhcr.org/horn-of-africa/regional.php 

BBC News, Africa, 2011. Horn of Africa drought: Kenya row over Somali refugees. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14144893

Scottish Refugee Council, Real Lives. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk/about/refugee_stories

Art Fund, Photographs from the series ‘Sleepers’ by Yto Barrada, 2009. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.artfund.org/what-we-do/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/10550/%5Bobject%20Object%5D

 A Camel for the Son, Fazal Sheikh, Description. [online] [viewed 10 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.fazalsheikh.org/projects/a_camel_for_the_son/description.php

Autograph ABP, Exhibitions, Aida Silvestri, Even This Will Pass, 2014. [online] [viewed 21 April 2014] Available from:

http://autograph-abp.co.uk/exhibitions/even-this-will-pass

Sherwin, S., 2011. Artist of the week 169: Yto Barrada. [online] [viewed 20 April 2014] Available from:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/dec/22/artist-week-yto-barrada

Walls.

In response to the similar conceptual approaches used by Aida Silvestri and Yto Barrada I have photographed my own interpretation of the situation, however conceptually my approach is more about the border in which we have to cross in order to live somewhere else which is why I have located my subject on the border of the walls surrounding Chester. Although obviously the struggle to cross is not upon the same level as it is for those illegally fleeing from Africa, the representation of the border which keeps us located in a certain place is clearly visible.

I have chosen to cover the face of my subject to remain anonymous much like Silvestri and Barrada in order to create no distractions from the meaning in which I am depicting visually via a reconstructed representation of a refugee’s struggle to freely leave their homeland. The scarf covering the face of my subject in this situation represents the struggle to see where they are going and enhance the fact that moving from one place to another is not so straightforward for some people.

Sleepers.

A lot like Aida Silvestri, Yto Barrada explores similar concepts of refugees fleeing their homeland via a visual exploration being photography.

During 2013 I saw Barradas work in a exhibition called ‘No Borders’ at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.

The displayed work by Barradas shows individuals known as the ‘burnt ones’ sleeping in parks. The burnt ones are refugees who have illegally fled across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to Europe. These people are known as the burnt ones as they are notorious for burning their passports to maintain anonymous in an attempt to help them illegally escape their country. The images show an exhausted and vulnerable faceless escapee sleeping helplessly on the ground with their heads covered in order to remain hidden from authorities. Similar to Silvestri the hidden faces create a sense of mystery and ambiguity, the vulnerable state in which they lay suggests hopelessness and exhaustion, physically and mentally.

Photographs from the series ‘Sleepers’ by Yto Barrada, 2006. 

More information at: http://www.artfund.org/what-we-do/art-weve-helped-buy/artwork/10550/photographs-from-the-series-yto-barrada

Refugees.

Whilst writing my main review on Aida Silvestri’s ‘Even This Will Pass’ show at Roman road I have decided I ought to further my knowledge of why so many refugees are fleeing the Horn of Africa.

I have begun reading the book ‘Conflict and the refugee experience: flight, exile, and repatriation in the Horn of Africa by Assafaw Bariagaber, 2006.

Conflict and the refugee experience: flight, exile, and repatriation in the Horn of Africa by Assafaw Bariagaber, 2006. 

Silvestri suggests that many of the refugees she interviews have fled Eritrea due to the poor standard of the dictatorial government, the population are under political regime and strict surveillance as well as having no freedom of speech.  From what I have discovered from ‘Conflict and the refugee experience…’ so far is that many refugees leave Africa due to political events, crisis and violence. It seems although the political situations are being hidden in the media as I’ve researched why refugees are leaving the Horn of Africa and many past articles have simply put it down to drought and famine.

Leyla Ali Adow, second from left, a Somali refugee who is pregnant, waited with others to be interrogated at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. 

A recent church shooting terrorist situation has lead to a mass security sweep in Kenya. Thousands of Somalian refugees are being swept up by the police and forced into overcrowded refugee camps. An article from the New York Times states that Police officers have entered homes and shops en masse, arresting hundreds of people, including women and children, and placing them on police trucks to take them to detention centres. “They don’t care if you have an ID card or not” claims a Mr. Abdulahi. 

Outside the gates of the camp families have commented to the press:

“My pregnant wife, 17-month-old child and sister are in there,” said Mahdi Ibrahim, 39, a refugee from Ethiopia. “This is the second time they come and arrest my family. Our refugee papers are valid.”

Ismail Osman, 63, a Kenyan citizen who is an ethnic Somali, said that police officers in his neighbourhood the day before had arrested his 32-year-old son, who has a mental illness and was not carrying identification.

“We don’t know where he is,” Mr. Osman said tearfully, showing his son’s Kenyan citizenship papers. “The process is confusing.”

Many of the refugees are terrified of being sent back to war-torn Somalia. What shocks me is that fellow Africans are not helping each other out through times of crisis, the corrupt police ethics are extremely concerning. The moral principles of humanity are shocking in these situations and I find it ultimately distressing.

Video insight to the situation and camps in Kenya available at Aljazeera: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2014/03/kenya-confines-all-refugees-two-camps-2014325211245266713.html 

New York Times Article, available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/world/africa/kenyas-answer-to-terrorism-sweeping-roundups-of-somalis.html?_r=0

I Connect Therefore I am.

‘iConnect therefore I am.’ My photographic response to the Social Identity debate and Sherry Turkles TED talk. 

Available at: 

http://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together

Discussion Topic:

https://daniellepughvisualexploration.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/social-identity/

Review Structures.

Throughout this post I will explore elements of exhibition reviews from Source magazines in order to influence my own final review for this unit.

 

Source, The Photographic Review, Autumn 2013, Issue 76, p54-55. 

Ever Young, James Barnor, Impressions Gallery.

The Time of Optimism.

Review by Mick Gidley. 

James Barnor, Eva, 1960

 

Analysis: 

Mick Gidley’s review of the Ever Young exhibition by James Barnor consists of descriptive paragraphs about the exhibition and it’s content. Throughout the introduction Gidley gives us an insight to exactly who he is talking about, a short biography of the photographer and what they’re all about. For the duration of the review we read heavy descriptions about the work being shown and the exhibition, what it consists of, what it represents and what it’s intentions are. The review seems to be mainly descriptive about what to expect in the exhibition, a descriptive insight which tells you about the contextual side of the show. Unfortunately the review for me doesn’t do the show or images justice, after researching more about Barnor and finding more images online I was excited by what I saw, for me the description even though elaborate for a short review does not come across as anything other than unfortunately quite dull.

More information at: http://autograph-abp.co.uk/exhibitions/james-barnor-ever-young

 

Source, The Photographic Review, Spring 2013, Issue 74, p50-51.

Woo!, Juergen Teller, ICA.

Serious Photography.

Review by Eugenie Shinkle.

 Juergen Teller, Vivienne Westwood, No.1, London, 2009. 

 

Analysis: 

Personally I find this review to be much more experimental and imaginative with the use of words compared to Gidley’s review of Ever Young. The review starts with a controversial statement about how ‘serious photographers don’t do fashion’ and by listing other photographs works who we are familiar with helps to give a better understanding of what to expect within the exhibition. After this, much like Gidley there is a short biographical paragraph about Juergen Teller and his past work which gives you an understanding of his background and why this show is not what you’ll expect. Onwards the review again is very descriptive about the exhibition, more specifically this time with an explanation of what is exactly in each room without giving away too much, just enough to make you want to go and see for yourself. Towards the end of the review Shinkle talks about the main controversial element of the exhibition being the nude photographs of Vivienne Westwood, including this keeps the reader interested as it’s a popular part of the show. The end summary explains critical concerns but in a tasteful and respectful way. The controversy creates debate around the review and exhibition. I find this review to be much more to my taste as the vocabulary is rich and vibrant, every adjective seems to be invigorating and makes for a much more interesting read.

More information at: http://www.ica.org.uk/whats-on/juergen-teller-woo

 

Source, The Photographic Review, Autumn 2013, Issue 76, p60-61. 

Man Ray Portraits, National Portrait Gallery.

With Mystery.

Review by Isabel Stevens. 

Man Ray, Catherine Deneuve, 1968. 

Reviewing a show by a well known famous pioneer has a different output compared to contemporary, it is unnecessary to be descriptive of the photographs because generally people who read the review will already be aware of what they will look like. The intro still consists of a slight biographical piece of information but the structure is different, it does not list facts but alternatively elaborates on well known information in an attempt to try and write something which has never been said before. Throughout the duration of the review there is clear evidence of historical research and facts which you may or may not be aware of, these facts are extended with interpretations and opinions of what the photographs may have meant at the time and how they are perceived today. What I found to be interesting in the review was the explanation of Man Ray’s photographic practice which is included in the show, that fact alone made me want to visit the show for myself, as it sparks intrigue of the reality, secrets and mystery’s of working process of the surrealist photographer.

Social Identity.

How do you think the role of photography in our culture is changing, when you think about how it is being used on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc? I’m particularly interested to hear your opinions on how you think photography, particularly self portrait photography, is being used to define an individual’s identity. How is our ‘identity’ constructed through the choice of photographs we post online? 

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/07/self_portrait

My Response:

As humans from early Greeks to modern day we have demonstrated an interest in self-exploration. Our current ‘selfie’ craze is a revolution, which reinforces our social identity over the Internet. Sociological research shows that humans are only capable of intimately knowing 150 people, due to social networking we feel we ought to share with more, as man is a social creature and the thought of loneliness drives us mad.

The problem being is we’re rapidly collecting online friends and not distancing quantity vs. quality. In a world where time is money and we are pressured to achieve more, when it comes to socializing it takes place in real life, in real time where you cannot control how you look or what you say. We’re obsessed with building an online persona so we can present ourselves as we want to be seen, we can edit and therefore delete. We can share pictures of when we look our best; it’s endless personal promotion.

However, sacrificing mere connection for conversation is what makes us feel lonely, we claim to have all these online friends but how many of them can you spend a day with, how many can you have a personal conversation with? We share to feel connected, to define ourselves and to feel less alone but in fact it’s doing the exact opposite as you loose physical human interaction.

Technology is rapidly changing who we are as we feel more and more lonely and vulnerable we turn to social media for what we believe to be stability, a controlled network of friends. Sharing a ‘selfie’, getting likes and comments makes one feel good about themselves but what is the actual value of this? We’re slowly forgetting how to physically interact socially face to face with one another, as we feel more comfortable hiding and controlling who we are via technology.

Negative News Obsession. (Explicit Imagery)

Forum 2: Viewer or Voyeur

Please have a look at the following links and share your thoughts regarding the
morality and ethics of reportage photography.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/mar/08/world-press-photo-sean-ohagan

 http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/1115319613001

 http://www.iwm.org.uk/exhibitions/shaped-by-war-photographs-by-don-mccullin

Farah Abdo Warsameh’s Stoned to Death, Somalia, 13 December. Photograph: AP.

My Response:

Why are we obsessed with negative news?

It occurred to me from scanning newspapers everyday that the ratio of negative reportage is unbelievably high compared to the positive. What I wanted to find out was why are we so obsessed as viewers with negative news?

The work of evolutionary psychologist and neuroscientists suggest that we seek dramatic and negative events as our brain craves negative energy, our negative brain tripwires are far more sensitive than the positive and therefore we experience fear more than happiness. We have much more access to the wider world now due to social networking and the media focusing on the negative news constantly creates an atmosphere of fear and stress for the reader as they’re overwhelmed by horrific stories, however as we’re hard-wired to this we share and talk about these dramatic cases much more than the good news when it occasionally comes around. Of course, this is great publicity for the publications, the more shocking their front page headline and accompanying picture is grabs our attention even if we are sickened by it and this compels us to find out more about the situation from shock and intrigue more than the rare positive news, which only seems to be about trashy TV shows and smug gold-plated assholes like Simon Cowell these days.

Reading and seeing negative news all the time stimulates a state of depression and those who indulge in the bad news become stressed and are more likely to make rational unwise decisions which are influenced by consumerism, notice since the recession consumer sales in entertainment has risen rapidly as we constantly try to fix what we cannot mentally escape, even those who don’t read the news are generally still surrounded by it everyday due to conversation or social media.

Essentially bad news makes us think that we feel good about ourselves and we continue to read it, by this the media have us wrapped around their little fingers in fear and control. However, there is no reason why we cannot equal the balance out by simply surrounding yourself with positivity whatever that may be to you.

Photography and The Law.

Forum 1: Photography and The Law

Between 1999-2001 Philip-Lorca diCorcia photographed pedestrians in Times Square, NYC.
The resulting works were shown at Pace/MacGill Gallery in Chelsea. When Erno
Nussenzweig, an Orthodox Jew and retired diamond merchant from Union City,
N.J., saw his picture in the exhibition catalogue, he sued diCorcia and Pace
for exhibiting and publishing the portrait without permission and profiting
from it financially. The suit sought an injunction to halt sales and
publication of the photograph, as well as $500,000 in compensatory damages and
$1.5 million in punitive damages.The suit was eventually dismissed by a New
York State Supreme Court judge who said that the photographer’s right to
artistic expression trumped the subject’s privacy rights.

Mr. Nussenzweig’s lawyer, Jay Goldberg, told The New York Law Journal that his
client “has lost control over his own image” he went on to say
“It’s a terrible invasion to me,” Mr. Goldberg said. “The last
thing a person has is his own dignity.”

When is it right or ethically wrong to make an image? Think of yourself in the
position of the subject and ask yourself, am I happy to be photographed and be
unaware of it?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/arts/17iht-lorca.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21532400

Phillip Lorca diCorcia, Head Series, 2001. 

My response: 

This court case raises awareness of just how easy it is to photograph someone without them knowing. If we’re having any kind of dig at Lorca diCorcia for invasion of privacy then we ought to be reminded that he’s not even close to the only one doing so. We’re constantly being watched by CCTV alone, isn’t this an invasion of privacy or is it for our own good? I believe it’s for our own good as personally I’ve been involved in an incident on public transport to which I was disgusted to find out afterwards that there was no CCTV and I had no physical evidence of what happened. Of course it’s quite scary to know we’re potentially being constantly recorded in public but if it’s for our own safety then I can’t say that I mind.

As for Lorca diCorcia I appreciate his work and the look he was trying to achieve, however I do feel that there should have been some consent from the people he photographed afterwards out of curtsy more than anything. At least then he wouldn’t have had the hassle of the court case, even if he did win. If I was the subject I’d be flattered that someone wanted to use a photograph of me for artistic merit and appreciate that they’d asked permission even after they’d taken it. It seems ethically a little unjust to exhibit an image of someone without their authorization.

#Hashtags.

Proof that hashtags, tags and self promotion get’s your work seen!

An unexpected share from the Roman Road’s facebook page of my short review has motivated me to focus my main review for the project on this show. Without sending my short review to them I found by ‘liking’ their facebook page that their social media team has read my short review and shared it, which unexpectedly made me feel quite proud.

I have decided I will write my main review on this show as out of all the shows I have seen in 2014 this one has been occupying my mind the most. The seriousness of the powerful work displayed and curated in this particular way at Roman Road has a overwhelming affect on ones state of mind. Although quite dark issues I feel they are extremely important and raising awareness of this can perhaps help to eliminate aspects of these horrific situations the refugees face. In order for an individual to simply better their life is absurd to think that some people have no choice but to risk death before the opportunity arises.

Even This Will Pass, short review available at: https://daniellepughvisualexploration.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/even-this-will-pass/