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Visual representations of poverty

In spite of revolutionary advances in technology, the history of photography has been plagued with the same questions, with photographs proving problematic on more than one level. Two central and interrelated questions are recurrent. Firstly, to what extent do photographs provide ‘objective’ renderings of reality? And secondly, if visual representation is not an objective and disembodied process, how is it mediated by culture, reflecting and reinforcing wider societal beliefs. This is echoed in the choice of subject matter, editing and framing of narratives, with photographs becoming a kind of ideological currency. This paper questions ‘Western’ portrayals of Africa, focusing on photographic representations of the Kroo Bay slum in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Finding itself in a post-conflict situation and positioned between different actors who recognise the currency of photographs, the community is caught in a kind of proxy war. Whether consciously or not, whichever party can effectively manage how it is represented is in a position of relative authority to engage with and reinforce particular narratives—which may culminate in a strengthening of their own relative position in the form of increased donations and greater access. Representation, thus, eclipses reality and what we are left with are mere images of the truth. The end result in such a scenario is the further entrenchment of the status quo.