ABSTRACT

Combining case studies with theoretical and philosophical insights, this book explores the role of photography in representing conflict and genocide, both during and after the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Concentrating on the photographer, this book considers the practice of photojournalism rather than simply in terms of its consumption and use by the media. The experiences and working methods of photographers in the field are analysed, showing how practitioners conceptualised their work and responded to larger questions about neutrality and moral responsibility. Presenting this ‘active’ form of witness, author Paul Lowe investigates a crucial ethical paradox faced by photojournalists. Moving beyond the end of the Yugoslav Wars in 2001, this book also considers the therapeutic and validating potential of photography for survivors, featuring photographers whose work centres on memory and reconciliation. Based on archival research, close reading and discourse analyses of photographs, and interviews with a range of international photographers, this book explores how photography from this period has been used and remediated in editorial photojournalism, fine art documentary and advocacy photography.

This book will be of interest to scholars in the history of photography, art and visual culture, and photojournalism.

chapter 1|17 pages

Bearing Witness to Atrocity

chapter 2|13 pages

An Economy of Images

chapter 3|22 pages

The Fugitive Testimony of Images

chapter 4|16 pages

The Ethics of Witnessing

chapter 5|17 pages

The Presentational Witness

chapter 6|25 pages

The Participatory Witness

chapter 7|25 pages

The Prosecutorial Witness

chapter 8|25 pages

The Post Factum Witness

chapter 9|9 pages

Conclusion

Testimonies of Light