“The camera is a kind of passport that annihilates moral boundaries and social inhibitions, freeing the photographer from any responsibility toward the people photographed”
Susan Sontag, On Photography
When Susan Sontag wrote her groundbreaking critique of photography, social media did not yet exist. More than 40 years on, the quote above seems to me, more relevant than ever. Though cameras have since changed and become far more accessible and convenient to use – allowing more individuals to call themselves ‘photographers’ than ever before – the underlying narratives of photography and the approach (one that undoubtedly often “annihilates moral boundaries and social inhibitions”) of Western photographers to the non-Western world specifically, are essentially, the same.
The underlying narratives are ones that consider the world through a binary lens; though the terms today may differ (no one seriously uses the term ‘Orient’ anymore), essentially there is a Western world, i.e. white, and an Eastern or non-Western one, i.e. Black and brown. None of these terms are ideal; ‘non-Western’ or ‘non-White’ centres the West, and to complicate things, they are not always meant in a geographical sense, but in a racial or ideological one; hence Australia is considered Western, but South America is not.
Photography today, and travel photography in particular, often perpetuate binary notions that depict the West as civilised and progressive, a place of order and advancement; and the East (taking into account the limitations of the terms) as its opposite: backward, disordered, and culturally inferior- a worldview that is rooted in orientalism. This often manifests in the exoticising and ‘othering’ of Black and brown bodies, the very origins of which can be traced back to the early days of the medium of photography itself. This article will provide links to resources that explain this further and will offer six ways that we as consumers of photography, can challenge this reductionist and often racist narrative.
6 Ways to Challenge the Orientalist Narrative in Photography
1. Educate Yourself
READ
Orientalism by Edward Said
First published in 1978, Edward Said’s groundbreaking book Orientalism, though controversial, served as the catalyst for change in numerous academic fields, and for the establishment of postcolonial studies. The ideas established in the book continue to influence not only academia, but disciplines such as journalism and photography more than 40 years after its publication.
Said argued that the Western perceptions of the ‘Orient’, represented in literature and the arts, allowed Europe and the West to subjugate and exert political dominance over the East/Orient. Moreover, these notions of the Orient were used as a counter to the ‘cultural superiority’ of Europe and the West. In Said’s own words, “Orientalism is fundamentally a political doctrine willed over the Orient because the Orient was weaker than the West, which elided the Orient’s difference with its weakness.”1 Creating an ‘Other’,“…European culture gained in strength and identity by setting itself off against the Orient as a sort of surrogate and even underground self.”2 While Europe was civilised and enlightened, the Orient was backward and in decline.
Though Said’s focus in the book was not photography specifically, his key arguments can (and have) been applied to the visual arts and media. In the age of social media, it could be argued that the visual representation of the ‘Other’ through photography and film has a greater impact on perceptions today than other mediums.
Camera Orientalis by Ali Behdad
Ali Behdad’s Camera Orientalis traces the history of orientalist photography in the Middle East, and shows how the new medium was used to further the orientalist worldview by presenting it as ‘objective fact’, which ultimately served the European colonial project. The study also shows the normative tropes that were used to represent the ‘exotic East’ through photography, and how Middle Eastern photographers often adopted those same tropes in their representation of lower social classes.
On Photography New York Times Magazine column by Teju Cole
Anything written by Teju Cole on the subject of photography is a must read. In When the Camera was a Weapon of Imperialism (and Still is) Cole highlights the inherent violence associated with ‘shooting’ with the camera.
“When we speak of ‘shooting’ with a camera, we are acknowledging the kinship of photography and violence.”
— Teju Cole
Photography as a Tool of Power and Subjugation by Zara Choudhary
Orientalist photography has a long history that goes back to the early days of the medium itself. This visual essay provides a basic understanding of how photography was used to further the European colonial project in Africa and Asia, and White supremacy in the United States.
“The myth of the ‘dark continent’, already well established in Europe by this point, was further cemented through photography, allowing existing stereotypes to be represented visually. If we look at a broad spectrum of colonial photographs produced in Africa (and this also applies to the Middle East and elsewhere), a visual vocabulary emerges. Photography was used to emphasise the contrast between ‘light’ (civilised) and ‘dark’ (uncivilised). This ‘light’ was shown by contrasting skin colour and by emphasising power dynamics through dress and pose.” ~ Photography as a Tool of Power and Subjugation: How the Camera was Used to Justify Black Racial Inferiority by Zara Choudhary.
Photography as a Tool of Power and Subjugation
Orientalist Travel Photography: ‘Creating’ the Native by Zirrar
Turning to modern day travel photography, for an analysis of the reductive tropes commonly found in photography that depicts the non-Western world and its ‘natives’, read SF writer Zirrar’s comprehensive essay on the subject.
“The crux of what is taking place today lays in the representation of the native in modern media, not only by politicians or policy makers (though they take a sizeable chunk of responsibility), but by the common traveller and so called ‘professional photographer’, who has become painter, poet, writer and fortune teller all in one. The men and women who ‘brave’ the jungle, the malaria, the hot desert and the sacred river; the ‘daring’ photographer who ‘travels as a local’ and immerses himself in the dirt ridden streets of over-crowded cities and discovers ‘hidden’ spots to capture the native in his natural element; he waits patiently for the native to finally reveal his dark heart through a piercing stare straight at the camera, or to capture an overly jubilant disposition in the act that makes the native dance and yell unintelligible vocals, to pound his chest and reveal his barely covered genitals, all with his dark face and bright white teeth – a good native, the native that wins awards and is finally being himself, unable to contain himself any longer – unlike the city native who is plain, chameleon-like and dreams of Western lands with his narrow skillset that will only get him so far. No gun with a bayonet, no battalion or empire, but an editor and social media sponsor, a National Geographic award entry and possible future documentary- these are the things that drive the modern Orientalist, the photographer, to the land of the native.” ~ Orientalist Travel Photography: ‘Creating’ the Native by Zirrar.
Orientalist Travel Photography: ‘Creating’ the Native
LISTEN
Listen to our podcast episodes on the topic. In Orientalism & Modern Travel Photography: ‘Othering’ in the Instagram Age, guests talk about the legacy of Edward Said and look at modern day travel photography through the lens of Orientalism. They discuss the ways in which ‘othering’ still takes place, and how well regarded photographers, intuitions and publications are still promoting that narrative. They also examine questions of identity and consent; and ‘self-orientalisation’ among POC photographers and communities.
In Challenging Institutional Orientalism, guests talk about the problematic nature of Steve McCurry’s ‘India’ and the ways in which photography is a tool of privilege within an Indian context, that often results in the ‘othering’ of the lower classes. They also discuss the negative impact of ‘voluntourism’, a growing sector that is often linked to the ‘white saviour’ complex.
WATCH
2. Don’t Blindly Follow ‘Popular’ Photographers
Few would disagree that Steve McCurry is one of the most influential photographers of recent decades, particularly in travel photography. Spend a short time on Instagram (where he currently has 3 million followers) and his signature portrait shot (you know the one: intense eyes fixed on the lens, rugged face) is replicated everywhere. His work, alongside a few others, has set the standard for modern day travel photography.
In A Too Perfect Picture, Teju Cole’s analysis of McCurry’s work however, leaves little doubt about the reductive and orientalist tropes he employs in his photography:
“The photographs in “India,” all taken in the last 40 years, are popular in part because they evoke an earlier time in Indian history, as well as old ideas of what photographs of Indians should look like, what the accouterments of their lives should be: umbrellas, looms, sewing machines; not laptops, wireless printers, escalators.”
Many of his images appear deliberately staged (the composition is too perfect), and the individuals featured are conveniently dressed in attire that evokes certain ‘types’ -a typical feature of colonial photography of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There have also been accusations (pretty demonstrable ones) of digital manipulation in his work also.
Reductive tropes aside, there are other reasons to take issue with McCurry- including the disturbing story behind his most famous photo, known typically as the ‘Afghan girl’ (her name is Sharbat Gula), that reveals a sense of entitlement (and worse) that is sadly not unusual among some celebrated Western photographers and their approach towards Black and brown bodies.
There appears to be double standard when comes to photographing Black and brown people, particularly children and the vulnerable. Benjamin Chesterton writing for Duck Rabbit highlighted this very issue in relation to the photographs taken by Italian photographer Marco Gualazzini- and his series of Indian women and children who he claimed had been raped.
“In India (as in the UK) it’s illegal to take and publish a photo of child and identify them as a survivor of sexual abuse. I’ve been told by a number of Indian journalists that identifying a young women as having been raped puts them at serious danger of being harmed. One very respected journalist I consulted with said ‘this can get people killed in rural India’.” ~ And the award for World Press Photo predator goes to …by Benjamin Chesterton.
It is not unreasonable to suggest that such images would not have been taken had the subjects been white Europeans or Americans.
3. Hold Institutions Accountable
Photographers are able to get away with questionable practices because they are supported and enabled by Western institutions and publications. Publications such as Nat Geo (though they are by no means the only offenders), continually employ and celebrate photographers whose work is demonstrably problematic, not out of a sense of misplaced loyalty, but because those publications generally subscribe to the same worldview.
Take for instance, this photo entitled ‘Rooftop dreams’ by Australian photographer Yasmin Mund (a decision has been made to only reproduce a small copy of the image here for reasons that will become clear). The photo, taken in Varanasi, India, is a birds-eye view of the rooftops of a number of family homes. The photographer took the photo from a nearby guesthouse of women and children asleep on the roofs of their home in the early hours of the morning, due to the hot weather. Some of the women are partially dressed, one child sleeps completely naked.
The invasion of privacy that has occurred here seems not to have registered to the photographer, who proudly sells prints of the photograph on her website. But perhaps worse than the ethical transgression of one relatively unknown photographer (however dismissive her responses to the rightful criticism of her actions were), is the institutional complicity that overlooked any possible ethical violations and instead celebrated the photo; it was awarded second place in the People category of the 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year.
Attention to this photographed was first raised by SF team member Zirrar, who led a campaign asking Nat Geo to rescind the award and offer an apology. For more context, read this excellent article by Andy Day on Fstoppers.
Pressure from the campaign led to Nat Geo quietly amending the original caption to the photograph on their website, with no explanations given. Below is the original caption as screenshot from the Nat Geo website.
Just a note, there are no adult men (“fathers”), cats or dogs visible in the photo. The orientalist attitude that the caption smacks of hardly needs further comment (“Can you spot the curry?”). Below is the current caption and photo title on the Nat Geo site; it has been edited to remove any references to curry, monkeys and cats.
The question must be asked: would this same photographer take a photo of sleeping women and children, who could not possibly consent, in their homes or gardens in her home country of Australia? What would the caption for that photo look like (“can you spot the barbie?”) Would Nat Geo or any other publication award such a photo a prize?
These double standards are demonstrated time and time again. Magnum photos is another repeat offender, as Benjamin Chesterton has shown.
Structural racism. @MagnumPhotos archive has a huge number of identifiable children forced into sexual abuse. Some with hands up trying to hide their identity. All in the developing world. No US. No UK pics.
— duck (@duckrabbitblog) August 3, 2020
In the Uk if you did this you would be arrested. pic.twitter.com/jUlfs6t25b
When published and awarded prizes by publications, these are the sort of photos that end up setting the industry standard for ‘good’ photography. The reality is they so often employ reductionist and dehumanising tropes, and are ostensibly used primarily for photographing non-white subjects. While publications and institutions continue to celebrate orientalist visuals, there is no reason to assume that individual photographers won’t continue down the same path.
Closely related to this topic, white photographers are consistently awarded prizes for their photographs of Black and brown subjects. Jasmine Weber dissects this trend in Discerning Photography’s White Gaze, as does Professor John Edwin Mason in the Twitter thread below.
White people like to look at photos of black people. No question. There’s a seemingly insatiable demand photos of black folks. Part of the reason is that photos give us permission to stare.
— John Edwin Mason (@johnedwinmason) October 17, 2018
4. Beware the Self-Orientalists
As this article has shown, orientalist tropes have long been seen as the industry standard – they are the images that are celebrated and awarded prizes. POC photographers are often just as guilty of perpetuating the same orientalist and racist narrative. Much of this self-orientalisation takes place at the lens of privileged individuals who take the disadvantaged in their own societies as subjects of their work.
Even if we assume that not all are aware of the full implications of, and insinuations present in, their work, the approach is still vigorously defended by some when challenged (as some SF team members have found on social media). A cursory glance at the comments on McCurry’s Instagram profile also reveals that many of his most vocal supporters are POC, many of whom jump to his defence if he is criticised.
The main takeaway here is that the issue is not necessarily related to the photographer’s ethnicity; the stereotypes and tropes associated with the non-Western world are so entrenched within photography, that they are often even perpetuated (wittingly or not) by those who are the subject of those very tropes.
5. Don’t Fall for the ‘Beauty’ Trap
Good aesthetics don’t outweigh ethical and social responsibility. There is still an ongoing debate among art historians and academics about the best way to approach orientalist photographs of the past (with the passing of time and changes in historical circumstances, can such photography be admired for its aesthetic qualities?3)
But what about photography today?
While many questionable images, including those of Steve McCurry, are undoubtedly beautiful to look at, the work of the photographer must be considered in context. Looking at the body of a photographer’s work, what else is photographed? Do most photos, particularly those related to non-Western locations, employ the tropes outlined in Zirrar’s article? Is their primary appeal the exoticism they present? Are they inclined to present a sense of timelessness, an age before modernity in their photos? How does this compare to their images of the West?
As Teju Cole states in relation to McCurry’s work on India,
‘A sequence of photographs, taken over many years and carefully arranged, however, reveals a worldview. To consider a place largely from the perspective of a permanent anthropological past, to settle on a notion of authenticity that edits out the present day, is not simply to present an alternative truth: It is to indulge in fantasy.’
Orientalism is a worldview that has always used aesthetics through the visual arts to perpetuate its aims- and that continues to be the case today.
6. Be Proactive and Intentional in who you Support: Change the Narrative
THINK critically about the images we are presented with as consumers. Publications such as Nat Geo should not be able to perpetuate a reductionist or racist worldview through a visual narrative that then sets the industry standard for photography.
HOLD institutions and publications to account; support campaigns such as Zirrar’s ‘Dear Nat Geo’ campaign and put pressure on organisations to change.
CHALLENGE photographers (irrespective of ethnicity) whose work perpetuates orientalist and racist narratives. This is not about questioning people’s motives or intentions, nor is it about ruining careers or ‘cancelling’ people, but if they refuse to engage in a dialogue, unfollow them.
SUPPORT photographers who document or represent their local regions and countries. Follow them, like them, share their work. Make them the industry standard. Our #Reclaim the Narrative campaign seeks to do just this and challenge the orientalist narrative in photography.
Reclaim the Narrative
Resources
PUBLICATIONS / ORGANISATIONS
- TheBlkGaze | Founded by Shaun Connell, TheBlkGaze is an online space dedicated to the celebration of Black perspectives in photography.
- Indigenous Photograph | Indigenous Photograph is a space to elevate the work of Indigenous visual journalists and bring balance to the way we tell stories about Indigenous people and spaces.
ON INSTAGRAM
- @nowhitesaviors | No White Saviors is an advocacy campaign led by a majority female, majority African team of professionals based in Kampala, Uganda. Their collective experience in the development and aid sectors has led to a deep commitment to seeing things change in a more equitable & anti-racist direction.
- @zirrar | Sacred Footsteps own team member Zirrar regularly examines issues related to Orientalism in the media and popular culture. He has led the charge on a number of issues later picked up by bigger accounts/organisations. Check out the Orientalism Highlights on his Insta profile.
ON TWITTER
- @duckrabbitblog | Benjamin Chesterton, founder of production company Duck Rabbit highlights issues related to photography and ethics, and the double standards that exist in the industry in photographing Black and brown people, particularly vulnerable individuals and children.
- @chiragwakaskar | Founder of @everdaymumbai, journalist and photographer Chirag dissects issues related to racism and a lack of diversity and inclusion in photography. He is known for tirelessly holding organisations to account.
Putting vulnerable rural population at risk for making photographs and making unscientific claims of “rural population here is relatively immune” is absolutely inhuman. If there is an important story – there are dozens of excellent Ethiopian photographers to cover it. (3/3) pic.twitter.com/Gi1rl0blpf
— Chirag Wakaskar (@chiragwakaskar) December 16, 2020
Footnotes
1 Edward Said, Orientalism, Penguin Books, London, 2003: 204.
2 Ibid. 3.
3 Ali Behdad, Camera Orientalis, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2016: 7-8.
