For this initial experiment, we invited participants to reflect upon some of the faces captured in Northcote W. Thomas's photographic portraits and to comment more generally on the significance of these archival images. Adding their voices...See moreFor this initial experiment, we invited participants to reflect upon some of the faces captured in Northcote W. Thomas's photographic portraits and to comment more generally on the significance of these archival images. Adding their voices to the mute photographs, we found that the same portrait may invite quite different 'readings'. Where one saw coercion, another might detect boredom. The crushing experience of colonialism may be found in one subject's expression; optimism and resilience in another's. Perhaps most surprising is the sympathetic view - even identification with - the face of the Government Anthropologist himself. Written by
The Light Surgeons
See less