' Simon norfolk - Afganistan / Dewi Lewis Publishing '
In my foundation year I found out about Norfolk's work when I started getting into my exploring stages.
So when he's name came up I was fully stoked to get back on the case & look deeper into his books & the video.
First impressions on his book, all that hits you is destruction, this feeling of complete sadness for the landscape & what it used to be, all caused by the humans hands & emotions that sometimes just cant be controlled
He documents Monuments, Architecture and landscape linking it to affects that we have had on the land.
He likes to get behind the scenes and mix within the landscape as if he's part of it. In his video he says in similar words " People wouldn't listen if I didn't make the images look beautiful, If I new they would then I would get rid of the beauty straight away " To me that says he doesn't care for the photographs, he cares for what the lens is pointing at & he's putting all his feelings onto a memory card or a negative..
The beauty in his work is just a vehicle form, he uses it to make people look and understand what billions of US dollars put into a country to try & help, just made it worst.
I personally think he is an incredible man and if he likes it or not, takes a beautiful photograph.
Norfolk's was highly inspired by Burke's work as well, there landscape work in ways was very similar, but they had very different audiences they aimed at and for different reasons, but Norfolk still wanted to move in his shadows photographing some similar work as a romantic gesture.
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These are the 3 images I have chosen, all scanned from ' Simon norfolk, Afghanistan. ( apolagises for the cropping, my scanner isnt big enough ) I feel they are all different in simple ways, but also quiet simular.
the first image just shows complete annihilation & makes me quiet upset, to think what we can actually do to a place, such destruction is unbelievable, I can expect being in the situation & setting can be very emotional for someone.
number 2 & 3 are vast landscapes 1 with vast damage to the soils & sprinkled with large gun shells. number 2 seems very untouched but still in the frame standing is a large shell almost like its a portrait.
it almost feels like he wants to find somewhere that isn't destroyed, and still standing, but still add's in a tiny mark to say that its happened here too.
image 3 almost looks like its built up in layers, going from destruction, fading into god creation and how it should look. Similar to image 2 but still lies the wars that have gone on for so long now. it will probably never return to its former self.
I admire Norfolk's courage to trail the streets and really get out what he wanted to, where others sit in armoured facilities reporting from behind a wall, where as norfolk travels around for 7 weeks with one afghan man & his car, Thats dedication to me, and I respect him for that in man ways, really shows how strong he feels a bit the situation.
