Fundamentalism Influences Photographic Art

At the week-end I came across an extraordinary partnership between a graffiti artist and a photographer that has created some disturbing images. The collaboration between photographer Carolin Becker and painter Simon Harrison was originally intended to be a commentary on how Hinduism impacts on daily life in India and the pair had travelled to Rajasthan to capture their vision of street life in Jaipur. But nine simultaneous bombings by Muslim fundamentalists in the centre of the city in 2008 altered their plans. The tragedy killed more than 60 people and the focus of their work shifted to portraying hints of death and terrorism.

The photographs were taken by Becker on the streets and outside the temples most affected by the bombs on the day of the tragedy and during the days beforehand. The original prints were then overpainted by graffiti artist Harrison using acrylic, gouache and spray-painting. It would be easy with a casual glance to think this photographic art had simply been manipulated on a computer but when I looked closer I could see the textures and sheen that can only be achieved with paint.

The image I found most compelling is of a young boy running across an open space in which Harrison has painted his shadow to show him holding an AK-47 rifle. In another image the same child is shown in the same pose carrying a large luminous cross in a skewed perspective of the religious conflict underlying the tragedy.

Becker and Harrison's aim was to portray how the lives of the adults and children in the photographs might have been affected by the bombings. This approach, in itself, by two Western artists raises disturbing questions on whether the effect on the subjects might ever be accurately conveyed and it is unclear if the subjects are even aware of their inclusion in these artworks.

Nonetheless this series of powerful artworks reminds the Western viewer that radicalism also affects the lives of those living in Third World poverty.

You can check out some of the BeckerHarrison images from their exhibition "What a Difference a day makes" at BeckerHarrison.