Stories About Our Cities. What’s Yours? Episode 4
Cities with stories. The furthest places and the closest issues about us.
“As a photographer who lives on this land, I find the issues and then record them. Now, I’m here to tell you all about it.” This might be the most simple thought to trigger photographers to press their shutters. The following series were made following this idea. They were made with photographers’ close observations, emotions and cares for the cities.
“Greeting From Florida” by Julia Gillard isn’t strictly speaking a story about one single city; rather it focuses on several towns and cities along the eastern coast of Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and Miami. In her series of photos, Gillard documents her findings in the Sunshine State, which is comprised of mainly pensioners in colourful shirts, palm trees and sandy beaches.
“Cities and states are made up of so many people and landscapes, cultures and communities. […] My trip was full of beauty and disappointment, presented to me in the dulcet hues of the flowering state.” — Julia Gillard
The wonderful thing about Gillard’s photographs is the intimacy in which the moments were captured. They remind you fondly of old photographs of family holidays: the kids playing on the beach, granny and grandpa sitting in the sun, walks along the promenade in the setting sun…
This sense of familiarity is amplified by the simplicity in the photos’ composition. Taken from interesting angles and with her keen eye for framing, Gillard’s story makes the viewer yearn for the easy life by the sea, despite the humid heat.
There’s a common saying in the English language, probably with many equivalents in other languages: “Home is where the heart is.” Home is difficult to define, since in today’s society we tend to move around a lot and lose sight of where home is.
In Ethan Chiang’s story “A Piece of Taipei”, the viewer follows the photographer’s journey through Taipei on the search for a piece of home. He reflects how Taipei doesn’t seem like a place he knows anymore since the passing of his grandfather.
“My grandfather always took me out to the street and wondering around, buy me toys and snacks, whatever I want as a kid, he could always fulfill my needs. Now that my grandfather has past away couple of years ago, Taipei never felt the same to me anymore…” — Ethan Chiang
His series of photos show typical street scenes of the constantly changing city Taipei. Throughout the collection though, the viewer is met with a kind of feeling of being lost, as if one is looking for somebody but can’t find him/her. It comes across as if Chiang is searching for or constantly reminded of his late grandfather, thus giving the photographs a slightly upsetting undertone.
Chiang references legendary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson in saying: “It might look like I’m just taking photos on the street, but as Henri Cartier-Bresson once said, we try to understand who we are by taking photos of others.”
Our final journey takes us to the city of San Salvador, where Giles Clarke came into contact with suspected gang members and shares his story in “Gang cages in El Salvador”. Dramatic images are accompanied by Clarke’s gripping and detailed description of the events that took place and led up to his encounter with the caged criminals.
Clarke gives background information on the two gangs ‘Mara Salvatruchas’ (MS-13) and ‘Barrio18' (M18), both notorious for their high numbers of members and extremely violent crimes. While in San Salvador, Clarke got the chance to see the “gang cages” in the back of the police station after pressing a Police Captain for more information on the problem of overcrowding in prisons.
Prisoners are kept in three 12x15 ft cages in cramped, unhygienic conditions. These cages were intended to be 72 hour holding cells, yet some criminals have been imprisoned here for more or less a year.
Clarke gives us a rare insight into the conditions of these inmates, underlining his story with the sub-heading “The Irony of Violence”.
“Both gangs, ‘Barrio18' and ‘MS-13', read the bible- often aloud to others in the cages. #Irony of #violence” — Giles Clarke
These gripping images show us how different the world can be, and perhaps how backward and archaic some parts of the world can seem. Please check out the full story on Rinse to find out more on this story.
Rinse has invited lots of talented photographers from around the world to share their best works. If we haven’t reached out to you yet, and you also have a great story to tell, please don’t hesitate to come share it with us at Rinse.
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