Aletheia Casey

Camille Lepage's portfolio

Barbara Dubus's portfolio

Women from the Stolen Generation

by Aletheia Casey (Australia)

www.aletheiacasey.com

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I wanted to do this workshop because I have previously heard Ed speak at a conference in London and I was both incredibly impressed with his photographic work and also the manner in which he spoke about photography. The passion, honesty and integrity in his work are greatly inspiring. I have learned so much from this workshop and have loved every second of it. I’m currently based in Sydney and am working on long term documentary projects.

The majority of my work is concerned with humanitarian and social issues, particularly human displacement due to environmental change. I spent the last four years working for the BBC in London and following personal photographic projects throughout Europe and the Middle East. In 2012 I exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery as part of The National Photographic Portrait Prize and Foto8 London as part of the Summer Show. During the same year I was named a winner of The Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Emerging Photographer Award for the UK. In 2012 I published with the Sunday Times Spectrum Magazine, 6Mois France and Witness Journal Italy. More recently I was named as a finalist for the Environmental Photographer of the Year Award and am currently exhibiting my Iran series The Disappearance of Lake Urmia, at the National Geographic Society in London.

Urban Paris, France For this portfolio I would like to present three series. The first looks at the urban spaces of Paris and how humans interact in this space. The series was photographed over two days in Paris as a part of the workshop with Ed Kashi.

The Disappearance of Lake Umria, Iran The second is a series of work on Lake Urmia in Iran, which is the largest salt lake in the Middle East. The vast lake lies far away from the country’s capital Tehran, between the provinces of East and West Azerbaijan. Due to irrigation and damming projects which block the water flow to the lake, Lake Urmia is emptying fast and very little water remains in what used to be a massive body of water. The lake has now shrunk by a massive 60% and experts warn that it could disappear entirely. If Lake Urmia does dry completely the effects on both the local community and also the larger community will be immense. The deterioration of Lake Urmia impacts 13 million local inhabitants, as well as the nations of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iraq, and Armenia. After the Apology;

Women from the Stolen Generation The third series is a new series which is currently a work in process. The forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families throughout the 1900s is arguably one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century in Australia. In 1995 an inquiry was conducted into the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their homes. These abducted children are now known as The Stolen Generation. The report took two years to complete and in 1997 the results of this inquiry were presented to the Australian Federal Parliament in a report called ‘Bringing Them Home’. The Bringing Them Home Report included several recommendations, among them a recommendation that the Australian Parliaments offer an official apology to the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander populations of Australia. It took more than one decade from the first presentation of this report for the Federal Government of Australia to make an official Apology to the people of The Stolen Generation. The formal apology by the Australian Federal Government to Indigenous Australians has been widely recognised as the first step towards reconciliation and healing for the aboriginal peoples of Australia. This, however, was only the beginning. Five years on; what has changed for women, in particular, from the Stolen Generation? This photographic series tells the story of women from Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds who were directly or indirectly affected by what happened to The Stolen Generation. Through portraiture and landscapes taken from the subjects’ own special place or ‘country’ combined with quotes taken from interviews the final images in this series are an in-depth exploration into the themes of grief, loss and reconciliation following the Australian Federal Government’s formal apology of 2008.

Portfolio from the Photojournalisme workshop with Ed Kashi, June 2013.

Written review by TAJ FORER,
Photographer and cofounder at Daylight Publishing

Dear Aletheia,

I have very much enjoyed looking at and thinking about your work. Below, I paste a few images drawn out of the portfolios you presented in Flickr. Beneath each image I have written write my reactions / observations / feelings in response. In all, I feel this represents my summarized reaction to your work, as presented to me.

I am immediately struck by image n°3; drawn in. The use of color in this photograph feels “right” – the interaction of the crisp, vibrant foreground and subtle, soft background/landscape is alluring. Then, the subtly synchronized angle of two of the women’s heads builds tension. I think, “What do the see? Are they on alert?” and a slight feeling of unease enters me.

Formally, I am a bit frustrated with the buildings behind the two figures to the right of the frame. It would have been fantastic if the angle had shifted enough that you could have rendered the two figures to the right in such a way that they, too, were composed against the soft, negative space of the sky (as is the one figure to the left of the frame). In any case, the photograph still draws me in and holds my attention wonderfully and I very much like this picture. In relation to the series from which it is drawn, it holds-‐up quite well conceptually; perhaps even just a touch too directly.

After the Apology; Women from the Stolen Generation
I have two primary reactions to the photographs I am presented with from this project: 1.) The affection of the images feels very forced and I question your intention 2.) The writing on the image drives me away. You are a strong, visual storyteller and I don’t feel that the use of text overlaid on the image does anything to add to your photographic representation of this story. Rather, I believe it detracts from the strength of your images, and in turn, the story that you seek to tell. Having said this, I do like the landscape-‐human pairings, in most of the diptychs that I reviewed from this project.

I would pay close attention to your alignment (or lack thereof) of the horizon and dominant compositional elements in all of the images you present together as single pieces. You probably already do this to some extent, but I would encourage you to perceive the two images together, as one single image, consisting of two complementary parts. I see this in some of the pairings, but less so in others. In general, I think the subject matter is rich, important and worthy of your exploration but, particularly resulting from the weighted/significance of the story behind these people, I think the affection of the imagery and use of text detract from your depiction or examination of these people and the story that surrounds them.

Perhaps you can simply re-‐present the work and it would create a different reaction in me?

Image n°5 tells a story and I like that very much. Furthermore, I like that the story doesn’t have a clear beginning or end, let alone a defined plot. In other words, I (the viewer) am able to create a story of my own in my mind, rooted in the information known to us in the image (as well as the subject matter of the project from which it is drawn). This device is wonderful and I encourage you to employ it more frequently. I suggest this because it results in a truly “collaborative” experience between you (photographer), and the viewer of your picture. When I encounter this image, I feel something and that feeling unfolds, emerges – visual experience of the image becomes at once psychological and physical, as emotions begin to stir. This is a beautifully subtle photograph. Technically, the use of the subtle vignette works well, although I am not typically fond of vignette – to me, it easily becomes too heavy-‐handed. Regardless, here I like it because it seems primarily shadow-‐based, rather than affected in-‐camera or via post-‐production work on the image. The juxtaposition of the foreground and the fence is lovely and creates a similar tension (good) to what I referenced in the image above. The football and its busy patterning resonates with the busy patterning of the wall – spot on. My attention is held by this picture and it supports the underlying subject of the series in a way that is wonderfully complicated; eliciting a more deepened investment from the viewer. Achieving this is a great thing in my mind, particularly when utilizing a more traditional documentary methodology such as you do.

I do not like photograph n°10 very much. It feels quite “known” – very simplistically photojournalism-‐like, rather than rooted in the artful documentary / concerned photographic storytelling tradition with which I associate much of your work (a much better thing, in my mind). I would rather see a detail of the dry lakebed, or something surprising, than this image. I don’t mean to be blunt but you have so many wonderful / strong / engaging pictures that this stands out for me as not nearly as good as the pictures above. I would edited this out of the project.

Picture n°9 is spot-on in; it tells a human story – one that all of us can relate to. By making this human connection to your viewer, you draw us into your picture and we become instantly and involuntarily connected to the subjects of your images. The use of yellow is incredible – wow – and the spread arms mimicked above in the flying kite is brilliant. The colors stand out and make an even greater impact as a result of the otherwise drab, dimly and evenly lit landscape. I also find the relationship between the building in the upper left corner and the yellow kite towards the bottom right corner to be formally engaging – the bulk of the image’s information being held nicely between these two object-‐anchors at opposite edges of the frame. More than anything, however, it is the instant connection to the human story that is told here that draws me into the image and its theme. Simultaneously, the image sets-‐up a deep relationship between the human subjects and the expansive body of water behind them in a nuanced and complex way; this I like.

Well done and it would be great to see more of your work. Please feel free to keep me updated about your work and thanks for the opportunity to have spent some time with your pictures.