I have not forgotten

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About I have not forgotten

In his introduction to Magnum Degrees, Michael Ignatieff says: "... the world needs to be photographed if it is to be understood; that [photography] exists to make us look again... that photography has a unique capacity to document reality. And in doing so to transform it into images that we are unable to forget."

Photography has liberated many truths in the world. It has uncovered despair, suffering, cruelty; and in achieving this, hopes to minimise the evil that might be perpetrated in the future. Ignatieff wries: "... today we owe our sense of the reality of Rwanda to Peress and Nachtwey [Magnum photographers]. Photography cannot stop evil here and now, but it does limit what is possible for the future to deny... photography can contribute evidence in the battle of memory against forgetting."

I have not forgotten is a photography project I began in response to the perception that in this media-saturated world of ours, we, the fortunate many, run the risk of becoming apathetic, desensitised to human tragedy and suffering, when these images no longer grace the front covers of our newspapers and magazines, or the sanitised faces of our high definition digitial flat screen televisions. In the project, I wanted to show that this "battle of memory against forgetting" still exists as far as the audience of these images, these photographs, are concerned.

To this end, and inspired by Anomalous NYC's I am thinking of you project, I approached ordinary people in recreational and social settings, spoke about the project and asked if they would consent to be photographed holding the message - "I have not forgotten" - to show that while life goes on under bright sunshine and blue skies, our memory of these tragedies remain strong, despite their flickering, transitory life as headline news. That, as a community, we have not forgotten suffering or evil, and that in remembering, we can be galvanised to act, to prevent it from happening again.

This group exists so that others may enact their own versions or responses to the theme of memory and responsibility. How have you/will you document the fact that the people in your community have not forgotten? How can you express that the spirit of humanity prevails in your world, in the face of acts of despair that have been enacted and which continue to be enacted in this world?

At the end of the day, this group seeks to present and promote a positive message: to show that the efforts of photojournalists and like photographers have not been in vain. That their images and stories are powerful, that they resonate in our imagination, and that, as we have not forgotten, we will not allow what they show to happen again.

Group Guidelines:
Feel free to post as many relevant images as you wish to the group. As the theme for this group is fairly broad, you might like to also contribute a discussion posting associated to one or more of these images (include the images in your post too) outlining the story behind your contribution.

You can also contribute photographs taken by others (eg. by photo-journalists), so long as these photographs are properly credited and that you include commentary on their contribution to the group. For an example of such credit and commentary, look at this detail from Luc Delahaye's Three Brothers.

Let's start with these guidelines and see how we go down the line. I look forward to seeing your photographs and discussion posts here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sengster/sets/1141512/