Dennis Sammut has been at the OXO Gallery to view a photo exhibition that brings to life the suffering of hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced by the Karabakh conflict and was impressed by the ability of photojournalist Ed Kashi to bring across the suffering of those he photographed whilst respecting their dignity.
The prestigious OXO Gallery on London´s South Bank is this week the venue for an exhibition of photographs by leading photo-journalist Ed Kashi that capture on camera the daily lives of some of the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis that remain displaced as a result of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Over a million persons, mostly Azerbaijanis but some Armenians also, were uprooted and obliged to abandon their homes as the conflict raged in the early 1990´s. They remain displaced, their communities scattered, and longing to return to their homes.
Ed Kashi travelled to Azerbaijan last year to document the plight of some of these victims of conflict. His pictures capture moments in their daily life as they continue to strive to create normality in a very abnormal situation. And this is where Kashi´s talent as a photojournalist comes out most impressively. His pictures capture the suffering in the eyes of the people he photographed without having to resort to grotesque scenes of pain and poverty.
As I walked around the exhibition my first thought was how normal and familiar the scenes and the people in them looked. But a closer look soon revealed, often in the eyes of those photographed, the silent cry of people who yearn to return to the peace and tranquility of a life they left behind in fear of their lives. and of their children, confused by their environment, but trying to cope despite the limited possibilities and difficult living conditions.
At the official opening of the exhibition on Wednesday I asked Kashi what made him opt for this subtle approach and he immediately replied that he was sensitive to respect the dignity of those he photographed. Indeed for people who have lost all their material belongings dignity is often the only thing that they have left. To rob them of that too would be nothing short of criminal. Kashi has ably reminded us of the suffering caused by the Karabakh conflict without needing to resort to that.
The exhibition "Unresolved Dreams: Azerbaijan´s refugees and IDPs is open at the Gallery@OXO until Sunday. The exhibition is organised by TEAS - The European Azerbaijan Society.
source:commonspace.eu
photo: Young boys playing leapfrog in Taxta Korpu, Aghjabedi Region, Azerbaijan on 28 May 2013. Picture courtesy of Ed Kashi and TEAS.
