Disability (and no footballs to be seen)
Written by John MacphersonI’ve had a long standing interest in the representation of disability in the media, from the bleak ads for multiple sclerosis in the 80’s, using torn photos to represent shattered lives, to an altogether more radical ad some years later which marked a change from the ‘medical model’ of disability to a ‘social model’, showing an overhead view of two parked cars with a blurred one going in between them onto a disabled parking space wheelchair symbol, with the caption ‘the only time you put yourself in the place of a disabled person’. Neatly putting the responsibilty for some of the difficulites that people with disabilites face on a daily basis onto the unthinking non-disabled public.
The problem with some of this type of charities advertising material though is its primary aim is to raise money, which it sometimes does the easy way, through guilt. We feel pity, we give, job done. But the difficulty for me arises from the fact that for many members of the public this is their only ‘insight’ into disability, and such a one-sided portrayal can be bleak, offering very little real understanding of the richness of the lives of people living with a disability, and the people who support them, friends, families, lovers.
I’ve watched Stephen Campbell’s unfolding personal photographic project with interest, recording the journey he and his wife are on as they raise their daughter Elizabeth.
Elizabeth
These are intimate and intensely personal images, and are I think all the more powerful for that. No voyeurism here, just involvement, images made in the midst of it all. But what I really like about these photographs is the fact that they’re remarkably ‘ordinary’. Its like looking in any family photo album and seeing the events and episodes that shape the lives of the participants unfold over the years. And for me therein lies their strength and their great beauty.
One of the most poignant images for me is this one, of Elizabeth’s empty room whilst she is away in hospital. Absent but still with her powerful presence in their home. The space people fill is rarely noticed until it is empty, even if only temporarily.
Elizabeth's bedroom
There’s little mawkish sentimentality in this work, just joy, humour, reflection and lots of devotion – brief glimpses into a life richly lived amidst difficulty. I’m not sure how much time Stephen is putting into this work, but I hope he continues to record these moments and events.
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.
Discussion (5 Comments)
Hi, I am currently writing my third year dissertation at uni and this post is quite relevant to my research. I am specifically looking into the representation of mental illness through photojournalism. I am interested to know your feelings on this subject. Thanks, emily.
Hi Emily – if you’re in your third year you probably know much more than me! But I’ll have a stab at a response – problem is its going to involve a load of different ‘labels’ which I loathe using.
What I would urge you to do if you’ve not already done so is get right in about the various agencies such as Mencap, MS Society, MIND etc and ask to see their historic advertising material. It will offer a good insight into the prevailing attitudes to disability/mental illness over the last 25 years, reflecting changing (?) societal values and the ways that ad agencies manipulated images of ‘disability’ to prick the public conscience.
First thing I think is to draw clear distinctions between disability and mental illness. For two reasons – as you’ll well know, they are very very different things; but also because you might find some aspects of research interest in the areas where they overlap.
‘Disability’ as it commonly understood involves some loss of function that is often obvious. A missing leg, arm, eye, etc. Various birth difficulties, meningitis, cerebral palsy etc. And also the ‘syndromes’ occurring as a result of genetics.
People with ‘disabilities’ generally dont get ‘whole’ or ‘better’ again (groan, terminology), and many may look ‘different’.
As an aside, on this ‘looking different’ – I did some work on this about 20 odd years ago, looking at the ways in which the aesthetics and assymetry of disability affects the way the public relate to people with disabilities and how this might affect the psychological equilibrium of people with disabilities (not much literature out there then, but there might be more now with the www so easy to access – so could be worth you looking out for).
On the other hand there is mental illness. This is often a ‘hidden disability’ and can cover a whole range of ‘problems’. Key thing for many people with a mental illness is that theirs is often an episodic problem, and in remission they may be fine, and appear ‘normal’ (which they are!), and indeed they may appear ‘normal’ even when they are very ill. Very many people in the community will experience some form of mental illness, with it often going undiagnosed, and a great many more experience it as a one-off incident and get well again with (or without) medical/psychological intervention.
Key thing with mental illness is that people often get ‘well’ again.
Now, the area of ‘overlap’ – if I recall my own studies, there was research done some years ago which showed that there may be a higher incidence of untreated mental illness in the population of people with ‘learning difficulties’ (groan – hate these words, drop the ‘l’ at the beginning and it makes more sense) because the symptoms of mental illness are masked by the underlying intellectual impairment, and go untreated as a consequence.
In about all of this are illnesses such as epilepsy, which can manifest as a result of many things, and can be very debilitating, or really well managed with medication, but again often ‘hidden’ although for some people the physical scars can be obvious.
Photographer David Heavey, who has epilepsy, did some sterling photographic work in the 90’s on Hidden Disabilites which was very insightful and powerful, toured widely and explored many of the issues you’ll possibly tackle. You might try to track him down and see what he’s currently up to.
I think the whole issue of representation of ‘hidden disability’ is a fascinating subject, and obviously a difficult one for photographers because often its not exactly visually dramatic. However I think the advantages of digital technology, and the ability to use sound and images together, offers an exciting medium for exploring such issues, using the words of the individuals themselves as they experience these ‘problems’.
I’m currently researching a project on a particular ‘hidden disability’ (would prefer not to say what it is at present) and its proving incredibly difficult. Few people will admit to experiencing it, and there is little in the way of a public face portraying it. I’ll keep in touch and if I get something under way I’ll let you know.
You might have a look at Abraham Menashe’s work, in particular’Inner Grace’ not specifically on mental illness, but does cover some of the ground you might stray into regarding the representation of disability.
http://www.humanistic-photography.com/gal07_grace/index.htm
Not sure if this is of much help or simply retreading old ground for you?
Also of interest might be some of the participatory projects PhotoVoice have done over the years. ‘Mental Wealth’ from 2006 is one http://www.photovoice.org/projects/uk/mental-wealth but there may be others I don’t know about. I imagine you are already aware of the ‘Time to Change’ campaign which is challenging the representation of mental health in the UK http://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
Thanks Rob. I was unaware of photovoice and its really good to see.
thank you so much for your response, and rob too. Its really interesting to hear how others feel about the subject and you have definitely been a great help.
I have been doing alot of research into the ‘time for change’ campaign which focuses on negative stereotypes of mental illness in the mass media, in particulary film and television. I am currently at the stage of my essay where I am exploring the wider media, as the research i found in reference to photojournalism specifically has been limited… I just hope I do not go off on one and lose the point! but I think it is important to mention how these stigma’s and stereotypes have developed.
I saw an interesting piece by a guy called Michael Nye, ‘Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness’ It is a series of portraits accompanied by audio. I found it particulary interesting to learn about the individual stories of the subjects.
It is also interesting that you mention Abraham Menashe’s (which i had not seen, thank you) as I have been also looking at Diane Arbus and the her work, ‘Untitled’ I was unsure as to whether I should use these examples in my essay as I do not want to blur the line between mental illness and learning difficulties (i also hate to use those labels) but I think it is important to show how Arbus shows a certain empathy towards her subjects and of course as she too suffered from mental illness.
Thanks again for your reply, emily.