Pressing images
Slaughterhouses scene in, Italy.
THREE lambs huddle together, peering through the window of a rustic Italian farmhouse.
A charming picture if it weren’t for the slaughtered and skinned animals they were staring at.
Provocative images such as this one aim to push the boundaries of everyday awareness towards issues in the news.
“They [the photos] are shocking –but it is what is actually happening around the world,” says Wellington’s exhibition director, Patricia Deen.
Deem hopes the World Press Photography Exhibition will create discussion and dialogue.
“I want us to come to an appreciation of how lucky we are to live in New Zealand,” she says.
As well as showcasing horrors and catastrophes behind the stories, the exhibition also plays on lighter aspects.
One image captures Barack Obama taking a second to compose himself, moments before he was sworn in as president.
Photography Tutor at Wellington Community College John Williams says it is important we see these pictures, as they are, a window to what is going on in the world.
“We don’t see these kinds of images often. Unless you trawl the internet or watch CNN all the time, there just isn’t much exposure to this kind of photography. The history of news journalism is photographers bearing witness to events,” Williams said.
Touring these photos for exhibitions around the world gives them a second life.
Hannah Spyksma
World Press Photography Exhibition, Shed11, September 17 – October 10.
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