Thursday 18 March 2010

Marc Bungle Brown


Not Natasha-Dana Popa

Impressions Gallery, Bradford 5th Feb-18th April 2010.

I chose this image to write about as it is the one that made the most impact on me, it is far more chilling in my opinion as it is more subtle than the other images in that there are no visible injuries to the girl and it is not apparent without knowing the context of that image that she is/was indeed a victim of sex trafficking. The image is shot on 35mm so I feel it could have been taken covertly without the prior knowledge of the subject, so as to get a more natural shot. What I notice about the image that is disturbing to me is the hand that is just at the edge of shot, creeping in, in my mind symbolising the traffickers, and how she is safe at the moment but there will always be the worry that they will recapture her.

If you look at the feet of the subject you will notice that she is clamped down tight onto the stirrup, as though nervous or wincing in pain, which conjures up all sorts of images in ones head about what is going on out of shot.

The shot is very white and very clinical, in stark contrast to the sleazy red lit rooms of the brothels that she would have once inhabited, there is, in my mind an equal balance of relief and fear in this picture, fear, as she is clearly wincing and in this hospital-esque setting looks rather un-nerving, but also relief in the way the image is lit, by beautiful natural sunlight, the light softened by the cotton drapes, and the greenery of the garden just in view, a sign of happier times to come, the grass is always greener on the other side.

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