On Wednesday 18 November, the Frontline Club hosted photographer Giles Duley to discuss the themes and individual images in his latest project, One Second of Light. Duley was joined by Roger Tatley, director at the Marian Goodman Gallery, and Jon Levy, a photo editor currently working with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

One Second of Light is a diverse collection of photographs that Duley has taken over the last seven years. He explained to the Frontline Club audience that he began to work on self-funded projects ten years ago, in order to maintain more control over the content and time dedicated. The project features photographs from a wide range of countries, including Angola, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Jordan and Ukraine.

Duley told the audience that the images chosen for the book are those that have stories attached to them, and that haven’t been published or received exposure previously. In reference to the title of the project, he explained that as he was compiling the collection, he noticed that – despite there being 100 photos included – the shutter speeds of all photos combined only amounted to roughly one second of time.

“I was interested in this idea that we see photos as permanent records, and really they are only fleeting moments of others… They can give us a little window, a little insight into those people’s lives, but really we have to accept that that is just a fraction of a second.”

Fascinating talk by @gilesduley @frontlineclub last night. Incredible images and interesting debate on the ethics of conflict photography

— Dominique Cutts (@domcutts) November 19, 2015

Duley explained that he prefers to spend a substantial period of time with the subjects featured in his work, who are often in extremely difficult situations. In response to an audience question about whether the photographer worried about the psychological impact of witnessing such harrowing scenes, Duley replied that the stories and names are “etched in [his] brain,” and that he would be concerned if such stories no longer affected him.

In explaining why he decided to work largely on self-funded projects, Duley said that he was interested in finding the story behind the photo, rather than taking the more provocative images often sought by NGOs and news publications. “For me personally that’s often not the story, those are often not the people you find.”

Duley then discussed his current project – photographing refugees in Lesvos for UNHCR.

He has continued to purposefully avoid taking the “obvious” photographs, and will not take a photo without permission of the subject. However, he did reveal that he is often frustrated that his photographs “don’t shout… and sometimes I wish I was taking photographs that were more angry.”

In discussing Duley‘s preference to focus on the complex stories that surround his photographs and their subjects, Tatley described him as a “conduit for the story,” rather than “imposing the story” of those who commissioned it.

As a result, Duley commented that many of his photographs become a crucial “part of the text.”

'Someone asked me if I was a war photographer, I said no, I'm an anti-war photographer' @gilesduley @frontlineclub

— Susie_Coen (@SusieCoen) November 18, 2015

Duley commented that he often looks to present his subjects carrying out day-to-day tasks, without their obvious labels, in order that they become more relatable.

This has its difficulties, as Levy pointed out: “How do you reconcile your role? You can’t be a refugee.”

Duley responded that ultimately he is not “looking for the ‘truth’, I’m looking for a narrative.”

“If you add the combined shutter speeds of these images they equate to nothing more than a moment of time – One Second of Light. Photography can give us some insight, but it’s just a window you are looking through momentarily. For those caught in these stories, the time and their suffering is a constant.” – Giles Duley

One Second of Light is a culmination of a decade of experience observing and capturing the lives and stories of people around the world. From Angola to Bangladesh, Afghanistan to Sudan, internationally renowned photographer Giles Duley has worked with charities such as Medecins Sans Frontières, UNHCR and EMERGENCY UK to bring light to the stories deserving of public attention.

Duley will be joining us to present his work, to talk about how his approach to photography has changed and how this has affected the projects he embarks on and the work that he produces.

Frustrated by the limitations of working with the media and the constant need for a hook, the majority of One Second Of Light is the result of self-funded projects. Duley will discuss this process, his experience of working with NGOs and the freedoms and difficulties it entails.

Giles Duley worked for 10 years as an editorial photographer in the fashion and music industries in Europe, before focusing his working on humanitarian projects. His work has been exhibited and published worldwide in many respected publications including Vogue, GQ, Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times, The Observer and New Statesman.

Duley will be joined by:

Jon Levy, London and international photo editor at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). He was the founding editor of Foto8, a photography publishing company. Previously he served as staff photographer at AFP, photo editor at The Independent and senior editor and deputy to director photography at The Wall Street Journal.

Roger Tatley, director at Marian Goodman Gallery, London where recent projects have included William Kentridge’s ‘More Sweetly Play the Dance’ and Anri Sala’s ‘To Each His Own (in Bridges)’. He has previously worked closely with the estates of Lygia Clark, Ana Mendieta and Hannah Wilke and as a director at Hauser & Wirth. Tatley has been the editor-in-chief or member of the editorial teams of a number of magazines, including Modern Painters, Contemporary, Artforum and Dazed & Confused and edited publications on art, photography, architecture and film whilst at Booth-Clibborn Editions.

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL BE FILMED AND STREAMED LIVE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Gino Strada (left) in conversation with Giles Duley (right) at The Frontline Club. Photo: Helena Williams

“You don’t have to be hit by a bullet or step on landmine to be a victim of war.”

In most cases encountered by renowned war surgeon Gino Strada, who has worked in some of the most dangerous countries in the world, the victims have died from entirely preventable diseases:

“Most patients are affected by rheumatic heart disease, this is seventy per cent of my job. It’s a disease that risks the future of an entire generation, a disease clearly linked to poverty. Rheumatic fever is the biggest killer in Africa.”

Strada founded Emergency in 1994, an Italian NGO which has so far provided more than 5,200,000 people with high quality medical care, free of charge. It has worked in 16 countries across the globe; building hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres for the world’s most vulnerable. His view is simple – to help those in need:

“Today it looks trivial, that care should be of a high standard, open to everyone, and free of charge. This sounds somewhere between revolutionary and utopic. It’s not – it’s the way it should be”

Emergency’s expertise ranges from surgery for landmine victims, to plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic surgery and cardiac surgery.

The Salam Centre in Khartoum, opened by Emergency in 2007, is the only facility in Africa capable of high-standard cardiac surgery free of charge. It was built in a bid to help the estimated 18 million people in Africa who are affected by rheumatic heart disease and in need of urgent surgery – something which can be prevented by a simple prophylaxis injection.

It was there in 2010 that photographer Giles Duley, who was in conversation with Strada last night, first encountered the cigarette-smoking surgeon-cum-humanitarian while on assignment. He recalled writing a letter to his girlfriend at the time about Strada and his mission:

“He wants to know a child in Africa will get the same treatment as a child in Italy. To him, there should be no difference in how you treat people.”

“In the two or three weeks I was there, I was unable to capture the photo in my mind that made Emergency stand out from the other NGOs I worked with.  How to capture that essence, that philosophy?” Duley said, adding that clinical hospitals do not make good subjects for photographers.

Barely months later, while on assignment in Afghanistan, Duley stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) which left him a triple amputee.

It was three years later, when Duley returned to Afghanistan to visit one of Emergency’s hospitals, that he was able to take the perfect shot – an image of a lone man, walking in a leafy Kabul courtyard within the premises of the clinic:

“[That photo] is the embodiment of what Emergency stands for. It encapsulates not just a hospital but an oasis of calm. . . . In the chaos of war, emergency hospitals stands testament that your level of care should be the same level of care of someone in Europe.”

Strada, on the other hand, has always had a clear picture of Emergency’s mission in his mind:

“All of us – sooner or later – will be in need of medical and surgical care. As this is a reality, I think it should be free of charge for all of us, of the best quality for all of us. We treat people with a bit of humanity, a bit of compassion, solidarity and professionalism, which is exactly the way people should be treated. That is the best lens to focus on which kind of society we have in front of us.”

The Italian war surgeon was softly spoken and humble – but the massive impact he has made was felt among the audience, with Megan Pietersen tweeting, “Not been around so many people I respect & admire in a long time.”

https://soundcloud.com/frontlineclub/gino-strada-in-conversation

Since Italian NGO Emergency was established in 1994 it has provided free, high quality health care to more than 5,200,000 victims of war, landmines and poverty.

Founded by Gino Strada and a group of colleagues, Emergency has now worked in 16 countries, building hospitals, surgical centres, rehabilitation centres, paediatric clinics, first aid posts, primary health clinics, a maternity centre and a centre for cardiac surgery.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome Gino Strada to the Frontline Club, where he will be talking to photographer Giles Duley about his life and work as a war surgeon and founder of Emergency.

Gino Strada graduated in medicine and trauma surgery from the University of Milan in 1978. In 1988 he decided to apply his surgical experience to helping and treating war victims. From 1989 to 1994 he worked in war zones across the world from Ayacucho, Peru to Kabul, Afghanistan, with the Geneva-based International Red Cross. The experience accumulated from years of war surgery made him realise the need for a small, agile, highly specialised medical organisation and in 1994 with few resources he and a group of colleagues founded Emergency.

Giles Duley worked for 10 years as a fashion and music photographer before becoming an accomplished humanitarian photographer. His work has been exhibited and published worldwide in many respected publications including Vogue, GQ, Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times, The Observer and the New Statesman. In 2010 he was nominated for an Amnesty International Media Award and was a winner at the Prix de Paris in 2010 & 2012. His self-portrait was selected for the 2012 Taylor Wessing Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. In 2011, whilst on patrol with 75th Cavalry Regiment, United States Army in Afghanistan, Duley stepped on an improvised explosive device. He was severely injured, losing both legs and an arm.

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On 20 April, 2011 photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were tragically killed while covering the civil war in Libya.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, Benjamin J. Spatz and the American literary magazine Alaska Quarterly Review brought together 68 of the world’s leading photographers to proactively honor Tim and Chris. The result,  Liberty and Justice (for All): A Global Photo Mosaic, is an exploration of the many facets of liberty and justice through images and personal narrative.

Join Spatz and Giles Duley in the final event in Photo Week 2012 for a presentation of the proactive tribute and to discuss the challenges to interpret and depict these universal themes in a dangerous and changing world.

Chaired by filmmaker and journalist James Brabazon.

Giles Duley worked for 10 years as a fashion and music photographer before becoming accomplished humanitarian photographer. His work has been exhibited and published worldwide in many respected publications including Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times and The Observer. In February 2011 Duley was severely injured while working in Afghanistan.

Benjamin J. Spatz is Guest Editor of the Alaska Quarterly Review and is a Truman National Security Fellow. He recently served as Special Advisor to the Government of Liberia and has worked with a relief and development NGO in Darfur, the global political risk advisory firm Eurasia Group, and the United Nations Mission in Liberia. Saptz‘s photography has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association.

Sponsored by:

On 20 April, 2011 photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros were tragically killed while covering the civil war in Libya.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, Benjamin J. Spatz and the American literary magazine Alaska Quarterly Review brought together 68 of the world’s leading photographers to proactively honor Tim and Chris. The result,  Liberty and Justice (for All): A Global Photo Mosaic, is an exploration of the many facets of liberty and justice through images and personal narrative.

Join Spatz and Giles Duley in the final event in Photo Week 2012 for a presentation of the proactive tribute and to discuss the challenges to interpret and depict these universal themes in a dangerous and changing world.

Chaired by filmmaker and journalist James Brabazon.

Giles Duley worked for 10 years as a fashion and music photographer before becoming accomplished humanitarian photographer. His work has been exhibited and published worldwide in many respected publications including Vogue, GQ, Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times and The Observer. In February 2011 Duley was severely injured while working in Afghanistan.

Benjamin J. Spatz is Guest Editor of the Alaska Quarterly Review and is a Truman National Security Fellow. He recently served as Special Advisor to the Government of Liberia and has worked with a relief and development NGO in Darfur, the global political risk advisory firm Eurasia Group, and the United Nations Mission in Liberia. Saptz‘s photography has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association.

Sponsored by: