When they won't look at the camera, focus on the ground
When they won't look at the camera, focus on the ground
What do you do as a photographer when you realise that you are in a place where taking pictures is exploiting people rather than helping them?
Point your camera downwards.
That was Gideon Mendel’s solution after months of working in the “Jungle” refugee camp in Calais.
He went there to teach photography to residents as part of a collaborative documentary project. But many of the migrants were hostile, fearing that photographs might identify them and be used to block their asylum claims. Others were simply cynical, pointing out that the procession of visiting reporters and photographers had changed nothing.
Instead of beating a retreat, Mendel focused on objects on the ground – from toothbrushes to shoes, from sleeping bags to rusted chairs.
The result is a book, Dzhangal, and an exhibition at London’s Autograph ABP gallery. The title comes from a Pashto word meaning ‘This is the forest” – which apparently is the origin of the Calais camp’s unofficial name. Originally known as Sangette, the camp was finally demolished last October.
The worn, grimy objects on the gallery floor are mirrored by Mendel’s photographs on the walls. They provoke thought about aesthetics – the difference in impact between the objects and the pictures, between empathy and admiration – but above all they are a reminder of a sad and shocking episode in international politics. One of the accompanying quotes from Dzhangal’s residents tells of queuing for clothes and musing, “Which English person was wearing this jacket before me? And was he more happy or the same as me?” Visitors will surely reverse the thought and wonder about the fate of the writer.
* Dzhangal is at Autograph ABP, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3BA, until 11 February. Info: 77230 9200/ lois[at]autograph-abp.co.uk
+ 28 January, Representing the Calais Jungle, tour and book launch with Mendel, 3-5:30pm, free
+ 2 February, late opening, Mendel talk and Q&A, free, 6.45pm