The photograph with a conscience.
Returning the gaze.
By Nyadzombe Nyampenza
A woman’s body lies on the tarmac. Her face is not visible. The body is in an awkward posture. A jostling press obsessively peers at her with recording devices, animated by the spectacle. This image by Aaron Ufumeli is a paradox in photojournalism.
Aaron turns his eye against other photographers at the scene. His framing ironically puts the viewer in the position of an innocent bystander. It has the perspective of a disinterested eye witness. By elevating his gaze the woman becomes a footnote in his composition.The photograph prompts uneasy questions on the depiction of people in pain, and dead bodies.
The sensational image being captured by the swarm of gizmos would be distributed through international press agencies. Some might be published in the mainstream Western media. A trope that perpetuates the predominant view of Africa as a continent of strife and violence. Typical responses would draw compassion for the woman, and outrage at her persecutors. Aaron’s image subverts the foregoing stereotypical narrative.
Ufumeli takes up a vulnerable position. His vantage point risks distracting his associates, and possibly expose his back to potential harm. By crossing an invisible line, he becomes one with the object of attention. In a transcendental way the object returns the gaze.
