Welcome to femLENS’ Photography Industry Recap! The Recap is intended to give you a bi-monthly update on exhibitions, the most relevant dialogues about the ethics of photography, introduce you to interesting articles, and finally, bring some photographic inspiration from the industry right to you. It aims to be accessible, global, relevant, and useful – let us know if you think we hit the mark in the comments!
Exhibitions
In Bologna’s PhMuseum Lab, Sayuri Ichida’s exhibition “Fumiko” opened on 11 May. The exhibition is rooted in the photographer’s family history, where she “reconstructs the memory of her mother”. The exhibition is open until 22 July.
Until 28 August, the Denver Art Museum is exhibiting “Modern Women/Modern Vision: Works from the Bank of America Collection”. It offers “more than 100 images by women artists”, and it “celebrates the bold and dynamic contributions of women to the development and evolution of photography in the 20th century”.
In London, the Free Space Project is hosting a bi-party created photographic project on the less-seen moments of parenthood until 30 May. The artists are Iko-Ọjọ Mercy Haruna and Lucy Levene. If you can’t make it to London, check out the virtual experience.
Until 5 June, the Fitzrovia Chapel in London is exhibiting 12 of Lee Miller’s iconic WWII nurse photographs.
In Switzerland, Fotomuseum Winterthur is exhibiting their “Fotobibliothek in der Passage”, a collection of print works displaying artistic photography, until the end of May.
Ethics
What would you do if someone took your idea and ran it as their own? On 16 May, a dialogue began on a photographers’ Facebook group by a member of the online community which questioned the protections available to photographers when large international publications (NatGeo, in this case) are said to have unethically taken and reframed an idea pitched to them by a photographer.
On 18 May, there was an update on the conversation regarding MSF’s questionable ethics when photographing victims of the abuses they are called in to assist with. @duckrabbit’s thread had one respondent comment that MSF’s practices “feels like colonialist voyeurism”. In a later tweet, the blog highlighted that Magnum Photos, a co-publisher of the images, did not display the controversial images that MSF are defending.
Later, on 23 May, The Guardian reported that MSF has removed the images of the teenage rape victim which caused public outcry due to racism and unethical photography of a vulnerable person. On 26 May MSF published an official apology on their website.
Al Jazeera, Politico and The Independent, among others, wrote about the newest Taliban ruling in Afghanistan which states female anchors must wear face coverings. A female anchor, Sonia Niazi, stated that, “This decree is unpredictable for all female presenters because Islam has not commanded us to cover our faces”.
On 23 May, FAD Magazine spotlighted Alissa Everett, “the Photographer picturing Ukrainian refugees with humanity and compassion”. FAD writes that what makes Everett’s photography unique is her rejection of “sensationalist aspect[s] of war photojournalism”.
Articles
The Daily Trust transcribed an interview with Dr. Kehinde Kadijat Kadiri, a senior lecturer in Kwara State (Nigeria) at the mass communications department in the University of Ilorin, about the reality of being a “female humanitarian photographer”. In the interview, she states that, “Humanitarian photography is about improving the lives of people”.
The New York Times wrote about photographer, Matika Wilbur, on her project to document all federally recgonised Indigenous tribes in America, in their limited series: “Visionaries”.
In early April, Brian Arnold writes about the photo-book publication of Tanya Marcuse’s photography, Fruitless, Fallen, Woven in Matca’s C4 Journal. It’s an emotive piece, filled with reflections on the author’s life, feminism, religion, myth and ecology.
“Through the lens, darkly”, published by The Hindu, spotlights Spandita Malik’s Nari series which aims to move past the “colonial lens”. Her work is “printed on fabric, and accentuated with traditional embroidery”.
The Guardian wrote about Finnish Photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen on 15 May , praising her “space-hopping” photography of the Byker district of Newcastle in the UK.
On 13 May, It’s Nice That published an article about Cafe Royal Books, titled “Behind the scenes at Café Royal Books: Craig Atkinson on sniffing out unseen and unpublished photography gems”.
Westword published a review by Hyde Chrastina on the Denver Art Museum’s ”Modern Women/Modern Vision: Works From the Bank of America Collection” which states that the exhibition “offers a beautiful interweaving of parallel stories”.
Inspiration
PetaPixel spotlights the winning artist, Deana Lawson, of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize on 17 May, for her work which “reclaims black experience”. Lawson is commended for her boldness of vision and striking contrast between the domestic scenes she photographs and the unsettling elements she includes in them. The Guardian also wrote about Lawson’s win earlier in the month, which you can read here.
Huck Magazine has released its 77th issue on 12 May, featuring a list of artists starring Mitski and featuring a cover portrait by Tom Jamieson and Melissa Kitty Jarram.
PetaPixel has published its list of the Best Photography Grants and Scholarships in 2022. Check them out here.