This week I focused on the artist Simon Norfolk and viewed his body of work Afghanistan-Chronotopia online. For this project Norfolk displays his 12 images with a written introduction that gives contextualisation for the project. Here Norfolk explains the ideologies for his title ‘Chronotopia’ and says in reference to Afghanistan that “Mikhail Bakhtin might have called this kind of landscape a ‘chronotope’: a place that allows movement through space and time simultaneously, a place that displays the ‘layeredness’ of time.” (http://www.simonnorfolk.com/afghanistan-chronotopia#essay) Norfolk’s images are a representation of the different decades that Afghanistan has had to endure war and conflict on its landscape. Each image you pay closer inspection to see if you can see this ‘layeredness’ of time. The detail that features in each image is incredible and even online there is no pixelization when zooming in. This concept of layered destruction from war and conflict is something that the media doesn’t really report on. The issues and implications of a landscape being constantly built up and then destroyed, adds to the audience’s curiosity and possible shock when viewing this series. I visually like the way these images have been shot, golden hues that complement the dessert landscape. Which then draws you into these temperate views only to shock you as you pay closer inspection to the subject and its context.
With my own practice I sometimes do see a layered time effect on some of the buildings/areas depending on their current use and function. I varies from site to site but maybe that is something I should include in detail when capturing, as it can show the history of the landscape from different decades. I really like the layout of his website and it exhibits Norfolk’s work brilliantly, I will take this on board when creating my own. I especially like the ‘zoom’ function to really take a detailed look and the ‘information’ button which then brings an overlay of text of contextualisation for the images.
In reflection to Marc Wilsons- Last Stand and Simon Norfolk- Afghanistan, both capture traces of events. My emotional response is different to both, with Wilson’s I am intrigued by the history. The subject is the defensive structures/areas for the war, you don’t visually see the brutally from the impact of the war. With Norfolk’s work you see a torn landscape bullet holes, round casings and buildings that have been hit by Hellfire missiles. It also is a conflict that is current and still going on, maybe that’s why it holds more of a shock factor. As where Wilson’s I can spend more time scanning the image for other details.
With my own practice, I am documenting from a war that has concluded (like Wilson) and doesn’t show any visual symbols of conflict, I wonder if it does fall in the general sense of aftermath photography. I need to have a look into what these airfields meant to the people of Northern Ireland, their involvement in WW2. This will bring greater understanding on the importance of the airfield and their landscape in which they are situated.
Critical Research Journal 