Tiffany Fairey

IMAGING PEACE

Photographic images play a potent role in war.  Historically, photography has been masterfully used to drive division, to support war efforts, to document atrocity and to inspire resistance.  But we have neglected to consider how photography might be harnessed to contribute to re-building after armed conflict and violence has subsided.  It’s a glaring omission in our hyper accelerated visual age when images play such a defining role in framing our politics and perceptions of each other.  What contribution do images make, not only to representing peace, but to actively shaping and embedding it? How are images and image-making being used to build relations, encourage dialogue and create new imaginaries of peace? 

Imaging Peace is a multi-year, multi-country study of peace photography[1] that will explore the vital but overlooked relationship between photography and peacebuilding.  I am researching histories and examples of peace photography in a number of post-conflict countries including Colombia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nepal working collaboratively in collaboration with partners in each country.  Looking beyond professional photographic production and mainstream media images, I focus on locally driven, community engaged and participatory photography to consider the specific conditions and processes of under the radar, visual peacebuilding.   

Arts and culture are increasingly seen as the go-to alternative tools for peacebuilding and community development but the distinct salience of the visual has been neglected.  Over the last 20 years my work has been concerned with community and participatory photography.  Building on this, I am developing diverse case studies of culturally specific examples of participatory peace photography.  I am critically considering their intentions and effects and analysing correlations and differences in their methods and strategies.  The research aims to contributing to a new agenda for visual peace research and practice. Outputs will include an academic monograph and a Peace Photography Handbook for practitioners.

For further info read this article on Image and Change. For the latest news on project follow on Instagram, Twitter or on the project Linktr.ee.

[1] Möller, Frank. Peace Photography. Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

 Imaging Peace is funded by The Leverhulme Trust. I have been awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship to undertake the project based at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London