The Flow Of Things

This evening, I attended a lecture in Sutardja Dai Hall by the prolific artist, Stephanie Syjuco.  Syjuco displayed slides of her various projects from recent years, ranging from creating counterfeit designer handbags to creating 3D prints of antiquated Congolese vases.  The overarching theme stringing together her work is the “flow of things”.  According to Syjuco, “in today’s world, with the flow of goods comes the flow of ideas.”  It is for this reason that I have chosen to review her lecture  In recent decades, the shaping and attempt at alleviating poverty is shaped by the technology that allows the flow of goods and ideas.  Some call it neoliberalism, some call it global trade. Either way, to deny globalization would be fallacy.

for the GPP Blog.

One of the projects that Syjuco conducted was taking a “selfie”, and posting it on a website called Stock Share, which provides copyright-free pictures that are used on public domains.  She then tracked the different websites that used her photo ranging from Australian tourist sites to massage therapy.  Through this project, Syjuco addresses the way that the context behind images morph as they are stratified, which reminded me of the treatment of photography on our Practice Experience.  Because we will be immersed in our Practice Experiences, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that people who will be viewing the photos we take lack context.  Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that we keep in consideration that we are responsible for the dispersal of portraits of people who will not be able to speak about the portrait themselves.

This is a recurring theme that began in GPP 115.  I think back to the GlobalPov videos that show smiling images of impoverished children, in which Ananya rhetorically asks, “Do people in poverty always smile this much?”  This topic cropped up again during our pre-departure orientation when we discussed Dorothea Lang’s photo of “Migrant Mother” and how the subject of the photo was angry at the non-consentual nature of the portrait.  On my practice experience, I anticipate that I may have some difficulty ensuring that the photos I take are approved by the women I will be working with.  I want them to fully understand where these photos will be posted, and who will see them, but it may be difficult due to cultural and language barriers.  Nevertheless, Stephanie Syjuco’s lecture sparked a renewed cognizance that on our Practice Experience we are responsible for painting the global portrait of poverty through our photography.