William Kelly
Belfast, Belfast, UK
We consume countless images everyday. With the advent of cheap hi definition cameras behind us, the visual world is well and truly saturated. From before Baudelaire’s flâneur, photographers have insisted that the cheap availability of the equipment would run them out of business. But with the new sensation of citizen journalism becoming acceptable forms of representation within news and even art scenes, one is forced to reflect, at what point is enough, enough?
I find the sheer quantity and quality of images of atrocity deeply unsettling, what is more disturbing is how frivolously images of people’s suffering are hastily scanned.
The market is consumer driven and publications with sensational images will trend and generate more hits. But what of the injured, disadvantaged and maimed (the main protagonists in western news media)? Forgotten about moments after being illuminated on screen.
I believe that the viewer, as well as photographer and publisher should be complicit when it comes to the consumption of images of atrocity. The oversaturation of imagery and endless slideshows of photographs encourage rapid viewing and consumption… there is always more, which must be seen. How can an image which is only viewed for a fraction of a second or seconds have any lasting influence on a persons thinking or understanding of an event?
The viewer’s responsibility should be made apparent; we must be implicated. My objective and contribution to this will be by encouraging participation with the imagery.
- Arts
- Audio capture
- Corporate
- Crisis
- Environment
- Events
- Interview
- Landscape
- Portrait
- Video capture