War photography is a genre that transcends mere visual documentation. It is a testament to the human spirit, a mirror to society, and a call for change. The photographs created are ones that must be shown to the public. We tend to hear sound bites from politicians talking about going to war and the devastation it will bring. We see headlines from media outlets mixed in with news stories of the day. Some important, others about something a celebrity is wearing at an event. But to view the destruction that world leaders bring upon civilization and environments is perhaps the only true version the viewing public outside of the horrors of war will get to witness.
Photographer, Giles Duley, was born in London in 1971, his journey into the world of photography started out with music photography. He was capturing images of famous rock stars for major publications, and then in 2004, he shifted his focus to documentary photography. With this new path, Duley traveled to conflict zones and began to tell stories for the viewing public. His career took a turn, when on assignment in Afghanistan, he himself became a casualty of war, resulting in the loss of both legs and an arm. This devastating incident might have ended many photographers’ careers, but for Duley, it only fueled his determination to continue his mission.
Duley’s work is distinguished by a focus on the human aspect of conflict. He doesn’t just capture scenes of warfare or the destruction it causes, however, he delves deeper, giving a voice to the often-forgotten victims, the displaced, and the wounded. His lens becomes a bridge between the world’s safe havens and the harrowing realities of war zones. While doing this, he connects with his subjects on a deeply personal level. He doesn’t photograph them from a distance. He becomes a part of their lives, sharing their stories and their pain. This emotional connection is evident in the powerful portraits he captures, where the subjects’ eyes often speak about their experiences and the trauma they’ve endured.
We live in a world where conflict and displacement continue to affect millions of lives worldwide. Giles Duley’s work reminds us that war photography is not just about the aesthetics of an image; it’s about bearing witness to the human condition during its most trying times and seeing humanity in the horror.
Thu Sept. 21 at 9:30PM on WKAR WORLD & STREAMING | A bilingual documentary film that explores a town in rural California working to integrate two distinct ethnic and linguistic groups through photography.
The film looks at how a creative practice like photography can succeed at cultivating leaders who are grounded in community cohesion. With photography as their medium, the participants in this project carve a path in a community that years ago was foreign to most immigrant farmworkers.
“God Told Me Stars Used to Be Audible Through the Window Sills” (2023), mixed media on wooden panel, mylar, aerosol paint, metal, steel, and indigenous flora patterns, 70 x 62.5 feet. All images © Morel Doucet, shared with permission
Whether working with porcelain or spray paint on wood panel, Morel Doucet begins with beauty. In a new conversation with Colossal, he discusses why he wants to entice viewers and tempt even the most unexpected audiences to engage with issues of displacement, the climate crisis, and what it means to be an immigrant in the U.S. He approaches his activism similarly because, to him, they’re one and the same. He says:
As an artist, the work that I make is inherently political. I consider all of my work to be double-edged swords: they entice and lure the viewer with beauty while reminding them of their complacency within the dying environment. I don’t have to say I’m an activist. The work that I make is inherently that.
This conversation occurred in September 2023, a few months after the artist closed his first solo exhibition at Galerie Myrtis and premiered his works in Chicago in At the Precipice: Responses to the Climate Crisis. We discuss those milestones, how his upbringing on his grandfather’s farm laid the foundation for his work, his proclivity for poetry, and why it’s important for him to tell his own stories.
“Gardenias” (2019), porcelain ceramic with cast altered forms, 10 X 12 x 15 inches. Photo by David Gary Lloyd
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article A Colossal Interview: Morel Doucet on Beauty, Gentrification, and Why He Uses Poetry to Tell His Story appeared first on Colossal.
A new indigenous art gallery in Baltimore is highlighting some of the best Native American artists in our area. Baltimore Center Stage opened the gallery earlier this month in partnership with the Baltimore American Indian Center.Judy Tallwing McCarthey is an Apache Elder and a lifelong artist. She considers her art a form of storytelling.”Anytime I put a bead on my work, that’s a prayer,” McCarthey said.Her work has hung in galleries all over the country, but seeing her piece in the gallery at Baltimore Center Stage is one of her proudest moments.”This gallery, very specifically, is for indigenous artists,” McCarthey said. “It’s recognizing that we are still here. We are still viable. We still have our culture. We still have our history that we know.”McCarthey’s piece is one of several that hang in the new Indigenous Art Gallery at Baltimore Center Stage. The goal is to give Native American artists a place to share their work and their stories. “To our knowledge there is nothing quite like this in the city in terms of another gallery that’s devoted specifically to indigenous art in particular, but also, it’s very rare in the country as a whole to be able to have displays and opportunities like this within a working, living theater in this way that has so much other art happening in this space,” Ken-Matt Martin, the interim artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, said. Martin said the theater has always done a land acknowledgment to recognize indigenous people who originally lived on the land, but they wanted to take it a step further at the start of this season. “We said sure, we can read a statement before the top of every show, but we would actually like to do something a little bit more in terms of inviting indigenous artists into our space,” Martin said.Joshua Webster, who is part of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, is one of the artists whose work is displayed in the gallery. It’s his first time ever showing in a gallery. “It’s pretty big for my culture, for the Native American people, and then also for the Lumbee people down in North Carolina to be representing all the way here in Maryland,” Webster said. “It just shows that we have a lot of vibrant love and color in us that we are still here to basically spread.”The gallery is open and free to the public during regular box office hours, Tuesday through Friday, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The art is also for sale. Both McCarthey and Webster have already sold their pieces, but it’s not just about getting people to look at the art and like it. It’s also about pushing people to learn. “I don’t want them to just come in and say, ‘That’s a beautiful painting. That’s a beautiful photograph’,” McCarthey said. “I want them to want to know more about the people who did that because by learning that story, you learn a greater story.”Baltimore Center Stage said they want to expand the gallery and showcase more work by indigenous artists. For more information on how you can get involved, visit the following website or email artisticpartnerships@centerstage.org.
A new indigenous art gallery in Baltimore is highlighting some of the best Native American artists in our area. Baltimore Center Stage opened the gallery earlier this month in partnership with the Baltimore American Indian Center.
Judy Tallwing McCarthey is an Apache Elder and a lifelong artist. She considers her art a form of storytelling.
Advertisement
“Anytime I put a bead on my work, that’s a prayer,” McCarthey said.
Her work has hung in galleries all over the country, but seeing her piece in the gallery at Baltimore Center Stage is one of her proudest moments.
“This gallery, very specifically, is for indigenous artists,” McCarthey said. “It’s recognizing that we are still here. We are still viable. We still have our culture. We still have our history that we know.”
McCarthey’s piece is one of several that hang in the new Indigenous Art Gallery at Baltimore Center Stage. The goal is to give Native American artists a place to share their work and their stories.
“To our knowledge there is nothing quite like this in the city in terms of another gallery that’s devoted specifically to indigenous art in particular, but also, it’s very rare in the country as a whole to be able to have displays and opportunities like this within a working, living theater in this way that has so much other art happening in this space,” Ken-Matt Martin, the interim artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, said.
Martin said the theater has always done a land acknowledgment to recognize indigenous people who originally lived on the land, but they wanted to take it a step further at the start of this season.
“We said sure, we can read a statement before the top of every show, but we would actually like to do something a little bit more in terms of inviting indigenous artists into our space,” Martin said.
Joshua Webster, who is part of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, is one of the artists whose work is displayed in the gallery. It’s his first time ever showing in a gallery.
“It’s pretty big for my culture, for the Native American people, and then also for the Lumbee people down in North Carolina to be representing all the way here in Maryland,” Webster said. “It just shows that we have a lot of vibrant love and color in us that we are still here to basically spread.”
The gallery is open and free to the public during regular box office hours, Tuesday through Friday, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The art is also for sale. Both McCarthey and Webster have already sold their pieces, but it’s not just about getting people to look at the art and like it. It’s also about pushing people to learn.
“I don’t want them to just come in and say, ‘That’s a beautiful painting. That’s a beautiful photograph’,” McCarthey said. “I want them to want to know more about the people who did that because by learning that story, you learn a greater story.”
Baltimore Center Stage said they want to expand the gallery and showcase more work by indigenous artists. For more information on how you can get involved, visit the following website or email artisticpartnerships@centerstage.org.
