A CULTURE OF TRUTH
In a world where news is fake and people in power are trying to rewrite our past, present and future, we must find something to hold on to. Everything is spun one way or another for profit or power but newspapers and the wider press must find their place in this. It’s easy for people to call media outlets ‘fake’ for their own ends, when there is so much bias in the industry, but it must be recognized that for the most part its function is the same as it always was, to show people the things they don't have time to see for themselves. As a photographer I would never willfully mislead with my photographs, either through photoshop or otherwise, not only from a moral stand point but also because the companies I work for would not tolerate it. As our work is called into question more and more - we must be beyond reproach.
Ok, so here is where I finally get to my point, there is one cure for a lack of trust in everything and everyone. Listen to all the opposing points of view, go and see it for yourself and then make your own mind up. Last week I did three jobs in three days, all at museums and art galleries, which seems to speak of the increasing trend of looking to culture to fill the gap that our lack of trust in other things has left.
The first was at the Royal Academy who were opening Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 a show that seems to encapsulate both the uptopian and distopian vision of the Russian revolution. The art of this period is famous for its propaganda images showing dreamlike plenty and might of the workers but this is far from being a celebration of communism. The sheer breadth of objects from paintings and pots to gliders and whole flats shows a much more varied artistic expression than the simplistic view of the soviet state would lead to you expect. Most importantly though the show is punctuated by a dark space showing a film of all the people sent to gulags in Stalin's purges. Art can't be held responsible for atrocities but we still have the responsibility to show the whole story, something that I think the RA has done very well.
The second at the Science Museum was the launch of The Female Lead where I was sent by TNR. A panel of successful women had been brought together to speak to school children about their experience and the importance of positive role models for young girls. I have always been aware of equality issues not least in my own industry and have been told myself many times ‘you can't do that, you will never succeed’. However you don't realize till you listen to women who have challenged and overcome this just how different it is to be told not only that you personally wont achieve your dreams but that your sex is simply incapable of certain jobs. It is always worth looking at the attitudes of the past that we think are ridiculous and then looking at our own, to wonder why don't find them equally as ridiculous.
The third and last was the opening of Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail, an exhibition at Museum of London Docklands. It is a collection of items discovered during the excavation of the Crossrail project to dig the Elizabeth Line. Now this is slightly different from the other two jobs I have talked about but no less important and perhaps even more relevant. The archaeological artifacts basically form spot history of the people of London from Mesolthic tools to marmalade jars even I recognize. This is not necessarily going challenge your perception of the history of London but these are real objects there for everyone to see. When it increasingly seems permissible to cast doubt on whether things happened or not, due to the fact we receive most of our information digitally, being able to almost literally lay your hands on the evidence is important.
This is all just my opinion, just a snapshot of a week at work and what it made me think about. My point is this: I feel very lucky in my job that it takes my to places I would not normally go and listen to opinions of people I would not normally come into contact with. I encourage you all to do the same.