Looking into the title “in real life”, I began by thinking about the current global events- both positive and negative. Overwhelmingly, we are bombarded with negativity in the media daily- from war, famine, poverty, refugee crises, to deaths of famous people, big court cases, and more recently climate change and environmental disasters. There are more global crises than I can reasonably list here, both individual and global. This led me to thinking about what the underlying theme is linking all of these global crises.
The Human Condition is a set of characteristics, key events, and situations that are essential to the human experience. These include birth, growth, emotionality, aspiration, conflict, and mortality, to name a few. I think a core strength and characteristic of the human condition is EMPATHY, the ability to “understand and share the feelings of another”… a skill essential in establishing and maintaining meaningful connections and relationships. Thinking about this in the context of contemporary global crises, there appears to be a disconnect in human empathy- a lack in meaningful relationships with ourselves, each other, and the planet. Could this go some way to explain the apparent lack of humanity in people’s actions? The widespread dehumanisation of communities who fall victim to war, famine, or natural disaster? A global displacement of families, who no longer identify with having a home? Empathy is an essential skill in helping others who are suffering from such events- yet such a small proportion of the planet seem to demonstrate this skill.
I started to research artists who explore the subject of the human condition, primarily through photography. I began with photography because of its “snapshot of time” qualities, translating an emotionally charged and raw experience or moment in time, and commenting it forever. The photographers i researched manage to capture the moments perfectly, narrating stories of real people, real hardship, and real emotions.
PETER TURNLEY:
“Photography is not at its core about cameras, but about exploring and contemplating the richness of life and the world around us” – Peter Turnley, photojournalist.
Peter Turnley uses photojournalism to communicate, provoke, and inspire, alongside documenting history. Turnley states that “the photographs connect my heart to my eyes”, developing deeper and more meaningful human connections. In such a way, photography is used as a visual aid in communicating empathy; demonstrating raw emotions, events, and experiences. As well as travelling and documenting peoples plights globally, Turnley writes accompanying photo-essays. One such essay is titled Moments of the Human Condition- explaining the photographers purpose behind his work; using the camera as a voice for revealing injustices, but also affirming what is beautiful in the world. Through his travels, Turnley describes how he has seen multiple dimensions of the human condition- and has seen people not define themselves by their possessions or wealth, but by their grace, courage and profound decency in their behaviours. In such a way he highlights the humanity in crisis situations- how despite the circumstances people still maintain their core humane characteristics and behaviours, demonstrating real empathy and compassion with one another. The aspect of this project I find most beautiful is the artists connection with both his medium and his subjects. Through his exploration of the human condition Turnley embraces people for who they are, listening to their stories without judgement- which i see as compassion and empathy in practice.
MARTIN MIDDLE-BROOK:
A commercial photographer and photojournalist, Middle-Brook uses photography as a medium to represent humanity “more honestly”, seeing the camera as a “gift within our hands to produce images that lend a weight of assistance”. I was drawn to Middle-Brooks photography for his ability to capture the intense emotionality behind people. Developing raw portraits that converse with the viewer; these images are almost unsettling as the subject looks directly at you through the visual borders of the photograph. I’ve always been intrigued by the human portrait, both in terms of the mathematical structure of the facial features- and how to translate this in illustration. Portraits such as these serve as great inspiration for understanding how to translate raw emotion into 2D illustration- how to convey a message, story, emotion, experience, memory… and so on, into a painting, or a pen illustration. Using imagery such as these photographs as references in practice also helps me develop confidence in illustrating highly detailed, and highly emotional human portrait; a skill i think is highly important in aiding peoples narratives- especially in terms of stories of plight- as it encourages active interaction from the reader/viewer- increasing their connection with a story, or an illustration; thus hopefully generating more empathy and compassion between people.
MANAR BILAL:
Bilal is a Syrian photographer responding to highly emotional contemporary issues; who has a worked with a variety of humanitarian organisations, coordinating projects in Syria, and taking a role in emergency situations. In his series “BEAUTIFUL FACES IN DIFFICULT PLACES”, Bilal takes photograph portraits of children living in refugee camps; intimate images that bring dignity to these children during good and bad times. Bilal’s staking observations demonstrate his bond with the subjects of his imagery and also the subjects relationship to the refugee camp conditions. The artist himself said “I lived in the camps, its dwellers are my family. I document the memories of our broken homeland and deteriorating reality”- Bilal is motivated to ensure these human experiences aren’t lost in time, are documented and presented to the wider global community. I’m drawn to the emotion of these portraits, the power encapsulated in the facial features- also a source of inspiration and reference for illustration portraits. As a viewer i am immediately captured and inquisitive about the subjects stories- marking me think about our global engagement with humanity, and more so the emotionality behind humanity. Asking questions such as, why are we drawn to human facial features? How are complex emotions, experiences, events translated through the eyes- and how can we translate this from mediums such as photography’s to other forms of visual communication (such as illustration)? Does the change in medium alter the impact of the emotionality of the subject?
Caitlin Noble 