Picturing Human Rights
Rape as a Weapon of War by Robin Hammond
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In this project, Robin Hammond argues that “it is our moral duty to do what we can do to stop atrocities like this from happening. It is wrong to care less about people because they are further away, don’t speak your language, or look different from you. If this happened in front of us we would be outraged into action.”
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Testimony by Joakim Eneroth
 | If there is one event that future historians may use to characterise the 20th century, it is the apathy among people and nations to challenge global injustice and abuse. Such a culture of indifference can be as much a human rights violation as torture, through permitting governments, military and institutions throughout the world to continue tyranny, censorship and abuse. Tibet offers a glimpse of the double talk, betrayal and blind sightedness of the international community.
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AFTERWAR by Lori Grinker
 | The human impact of violence lasts long beyond signing of a treaty. Capturing the impact of this ‘collateral damage’ is the power of AFTERWAR by Lori Grinker. “The twentieth century was one of history’s deadliest. Over 10 million people died in about 165 wars, and countless others were wounded as nationalism, competing ideologies, religions and genocidal conflicts raged from Europe, through Asia, Africa and the Americas." - Lori Grinker |
Survivors by Jodi Bieber
 | Too often we are presented with images of the vulnerable and exploited as victims of circumstances beyond their control. Jodi Bieber’s work on domestic violence depicts the women, whose stories she seeks to tell, as survivors - survivors of domestic violence. |
Left Behind by Kate Schermerhorn
 | To document something as intrinsic to the human condition as war is a daunting task, as it is both a deeply complex and often photographed issue. Kate Schermerhorn’s work counters the mainstream by focusing on the intimate rather than the sensational, reminding the viewer of the considerable personal costs of war and the ultimate fragility of the human condition. |
Oil - A Crude World by Paolo Woods
 | You would imagine that people from a country that has massive oil reserves have been blessed. But in many countries we went to we were told, ‘unfortunately we have oil. It has been a curse not a blessing.‘ Paolo Woods |
Refuge - The First Safe Place by Simon Norfolk
 | Refugee camps are creations that rise from the ashes of destruction. They speak of the countries they are in, the wars from which they are born, and the people who inhabit their bounds. Simon Norfolk’s work looks at these camps, focusing on their physical progression all over the world. |
35 Years of Chile: Fragments of a lost hope by Alvaro Hoppe & Alejandro Bustos
 | Alvaro Hoppe documented the daily and often violent events during the final eight years of the Pinochet dictatorship. His work lit a torch of hope that was passed onto a new generation of Chilean social documentarians, of which Alejandro Bustos is a part. After the democratic light was reignited in Chile, Bustos's contemporary images drifted away from Hoppe's sharpness and epicness into a time of anti-heroism, routine, consumerism and back into dissatisfaction. |
The Underclass and its Bosses by Donald Weber
 | The Underclass and its Bosses gives us a glimpse into the life of Ukrainians in the industrial city of Dniprodzerzhinsk. This is a story of a society struggling to find its identity, excluded from the mainstream, forgotten by its leaders and trying to maintain their freedom. Weber’s willingness to document both sides of the story comes through in his imagery and this essay highlights the very real struggles this ‘underclass’ endures. |
Dream of the Rich North by Janet Jarman
 | Janet Jarman’s story Dream of the Rich North contrasts the privileged northern life against the poverty and hopelessness of many from the south. The desire, as many of us would in similar circumstances, to find a better life. But in their desperation they encounter hardship, deprivation and humiliation that often sees them no better off, often worse off, in a country that refuses to share its abundance fairly. |
175M by Gilles Sabrie
 | China’s gargantuan appetite for economic growth will see two cities, 11 counties, 140 towns, 326 townships, 1351 villages and 24,300 hectares of farmland consumed by rising water levels by 2009. Either China’s greatest engineering success or the world’s greatest environmental disaster, the Three Gorges Dam Project will be the reservoir in which buildings, factories, industrial and toxic waste will be entombed along with the rights, memories and aspirations of over 1.3 million displaced people. Gilles Sabrie’s 175M invokes a sense of urgency in resolving the human, political and industrial dimension of development. |
Industrial Scars by Henri Fair
 | Arrogantly we have commodified the earth, abused the planet and put at risk the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land on which we exist. All this for the sake of profit. J. Henry Fair’s work is the equivalent of a visual concerto of our demise. He has discovered the entropic nature of our being, and the images are as beautiful as they are frightening. Behind the abstract splendour of his work lies the threat and promise of a world in ruin. |
The Atlantic Wall by Juan Medina
 | It is estimated that in 2003 alone, more than 7,000 immigrants, from drought ridden African nations such as Mali and Gambia, attempted the dangerous 100km sea passage to the Canary Islands. Tragically, some never reach the shores alive. The viewer can’t help but notice the obvious gap in fortunes between those on the beaches for leisure and those seeking asylum. The work acts as a visual metaphor for the unequal distribution of wealth between nations and reminds the viewer that the desire for an adequate standard of living remains a human rights issue. |
Child Labour by Shiho Fukada
 | As we moved into the 21st Century, over six million children under the age of 14 were working in Bangladesh. These children spend their days in an alien environment of twisted metals, roaring machines and dangerous spaces. |
We're Talking... anyone listening? by Angela Blakely & David Lloyd
 | Australia’s image abroad is one of the ‘lucky’ country – a progressive country of mineral wealth, good health and a comprehensive education system. Between the majority of non-Indigenous and the minority of Indigenous people remains a massive gap of living standards. We’re talking…anyone listening? brings to light the unfortunate reality of the lives of the Aboriginal youth in Mount Isa, who, like so many, face uncertain and desperate futures as a result of the disregard of their basic human rights. |
Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel
 | Twenty percent of the world’s population consumes over 80 per cent of the world’s resources, while the other 80 per cent consumes less then 20 per cent. While the majority world struggles to feed itself, we suffer the consequences of excess: obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Through photographing what is eaten by the middle class in 24 countries, Menzel also captures a hierarchy of greed that shames those who continue to exploit resources to satisfy their gluttony. |
Teen Lipo by Lauren Greenfield
 | Brooke Bates had always been the ‘fat kid’; teased, inadequate and depressed. Her weight reiterated her failure to conform to the ‘ideal’ body constantly exhibited in the media and advertising. At the influential age of 12, Brooke underwent liposuction and a tummy tuck to remove 16kg of fat. Brooke’s story is not unique, and appears to be increasingly common in the developed world. While teenagers in the US receive liposuction, it is estimated that one in three children under five in developing nations suffer from malnutrition. Teen Lipo is about Brooke’s struggle to fit in, feel confident and address her health problems. |
Stories of Human Trafficking by Karen Robinson
 | In a post 9-11 world, immigration and border control agencies are focused on anti-terrorist initiatives. As a result thousands of trafficked women who arrive at ports or airports are allowed to pass. Politicians, police and immigration authorities view these women as illegal immigrants and prostitutes. Through the help of the POPPY project, a London charity set up in 2003, some women have been rescued and freed from their captors. Their stories not only condemn the traffickers, but also their customers, the state, and the apathetic politicians whose complicity makes them active participants in the exploitation and rape of these women. |
Cocalari Iron People by Alfredo D'Amato
 | Pre-1989, Romania was under the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu, and part of his regime involved the demolition of village houses as a way of forcing residents to move into his own controlled, tower block apartments. The ration of apartments to houses was uneven, and as a result many families were left homeless. In the words of D’Amato: “Life, it is a gift, and we should always remember that some people get an easy life while some others are not that lucky.” |
