This article was printed in the Power & Empowerment issue of British Journal of Photography…
8 March 2021
Tag: Politics
On the day of US President-Elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Mexican photographer reflects on her Female in Focus 2020 winning series, conceived last year in a bid to convince American citizens to vote Trump out of office
Upon learning of her mother’s terminated pregnancy while in the armed forces, the photographer set to work to reveal an intimate and important experience shared by many
In the first instalment of a new series, ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you’, we present George Selley in conversation with Peter Kennard, a political artist who has deeply influenced his practice
LUMIX Stories for Change is an ongoing collaboration between British Journal of Photography and Panasonic…
LUMIX Stories for Change is an ongoing collaboration between British Journal of Photography and Panasonic…
Gabriella Demczuk, nominated by photographer and editor Laurence Butet-Roch, reflects the mood of a nation with her noir-like political series in the US
“It was also about reshaping that American icon: everyone thinks of the cowboy as this white American hero who has come to slay Native Americans. Actually the word cowboy is a racist term. It comes from when slave masters called all their slaves ‘boys’ and so the cow boy was the boy who looked after the cows and the horse boy was the boy who looked after the horses.” Cian Oba-Smith journeys to Philadelphia at a politically charged time during the 2016 U.S. election to meet with an infamous group of horsemen dealing with this ingrained racism on a daily basis.
“I meet people with more empathy and more care towards one another in war situations or in conflict around the world than I have ever experienced in Europe. People want to share the little they have with me because I have talked to them and shown an interest in them,” says Jan Grarup. His work has taken him to the sites of the worst conflicts – from obvious examples such as Iraq and Iran, to forgotten areas like the Central African Republic. Each place he visits, he stays to learn about the culture and customs of the people before taking their photographs. In these places of despair and destruction, Grarup often finds hope and resilience. But the Western world needs to be more active and share the responsibility to help these regions return to a peaceful existence.
“I believe that the great strength photography has, and in particular documentary photography, is content. So much of what is published today, seems to me to be content less. I hope my photography illuminates and resonates with viewers and tells how British society was. And, of my more recent work, of how society is,” says Homer Sykes. he has been photographing British society for five decades, including major social and political events, such as The Battle of Lewisham. Now, some of his work is set to be featured in a Burberry show this month.