In this post, Tayla introduces the three-part takedown of Jimmy Nelson's Before they Pass Away by looking at colonial photography, and the danger of reading photographs as 'truth'.
It took the Anthsisters a while to decide exactly what we were going to do about ol' Jimmy. The whiteboard in Anthsisters HQ was filled with comments, quotes, ideas and points to make in our post, we had a few meetings where we took notes and discussed what we were going to write, and we read endless reviews and articles on the book. Tarapuhi and I even watched Jimmy Nelson's TED talk (our favourite part was when Jimmy referred to Inuit as Eskimos. So anthropological). After working ourselves up, and feeling every kind of emotion possible, we decided the best bet was to each write a piece focusing on one aspect we were passionate about. I've decided to use this takedown to discuss the introduction of photography and how it became a source of scientific truth, the danger in reading photographs as truth, and how Jimmy Nelson's Before they Pass Away is in my mind, a modern-day diary of a colonial photographer.
It took the Anthsisters a while to decide exactly what we were going to do about ol' Jimmy. The whiteboard in Anthsisters HQ was filled with comments, quotes, ideas and points to make in our post, we had a few meetings where we took notes and discussed what we were going to write, and we read endless reviews and articles on the book. Tarapuhi and I even watched Jimmy Nelson's TED talk (our favourite part was when Jimmy referred to Inuit as Eskimos. So anthropological). After working ourselves up, and feeling every kind of emotion possible, we decided the best bet was to each write a piece focusing on one aspect we were passionate about. I've decided to use this takedown to discuss the introduction of photography and how it became a source of scientific truth, the danger in reading photographs as truth, and how Jimmy Nelson's Before they Pass Away is in my mind, a modern-day diary of a colonial photographer.
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| [1] Malinowski 1974 [2] Nelson 2013 Maybe Jimmy Nelson's wife might publish his diary one day? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ |
In 1904, Dudley Kidd published The Essential Kafir which presented Africans in South Africa as a variegated but single ‘race’. In the text in these treatments, racial and ethnic hallmarks were expressed as departures from a familiar Western norm – from the white, male and middle-class self, and as a reflection of colonial interests, registering the difficulty or usefulness of a population.
In 2013, Jimmy Nelson published Before they Pass Away which presented 31 tribes across the globe, each a ‘visually unique’ race. In the text at the beginning of this book, racial and ethnic hallmarks were expressed as departures from the Western norm – from the white, male and middle-class self, to a reflection of the ‘purity of humanity’ and the ‘last resorts of natural authenticity’.
In 2013, Jimmy Nelson published Before they Pass Away which presented 31 tribes across the globe, each a ‘visually unique’ race. In the text at the beginning of this book, racial and ethnic hallmarks were expressed as departures from the Western norm – from the white, male and middle-class self, to a reflection of the ‘purity of humanity’ and the ‘last resorts of natural authenticity’.
What do these two books, from two different eras have in common? Photographs and observations by two white men that we are encouraged to believe represent ‘truthful’ insights into the nature of native people.
